See also: combein

French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old French combien, from comme + bien.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /kɔ̃.bjɛ̃/
  • Audio (France):(file)

Adverb

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combien

  1. how much (for uncountable nouns and portions)
    Il y en a combien ?How much of it is there?
    Combien tu en veux ?How much (of it) do you want?
    • 2018, Zaz, On s'en remet jamais:
      Est-ce que tu crois que l’on oublie ? Combien de temps faut-il attendre ? Combien de nuits pour désapprendre à se retourner dans son lit ?
      Do you believe that one forgets? How long [lit. how much time] must one wait? How many nights to break the habit of rolling over in one's bed?
  2. how much (for money)
    Je ne sais pas combien d’argent j’ai.I don't know how much money I have.
  3. how many (with countable nouns)
    Combien de chansons va-t-elle chanter ?How many songs is she going to sing?
    Il y en a combien ?How many of them are there?
    • 2018, Zaz, On s'en remet jamais:
      Est-ce que tu crois que l’on oublie ? Combien de temps faut-il attendre ? Combien de nuits pour désapprendre à se retourner dans son lit ?
      Do you believe that one forgets? How long must one wait? How many nights to break the habit of rolling over in one's bed?

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Haitian Creole: konbyen

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Old French

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From comme + bien.

Adverb

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combien

  1. how much, how many
    • c. 1170, Wace, Le Roman de Rou[1]:
      Dez ke Richart le sout, un espie enveia
      Saveir u Thiebaut ert, e combien gent il a.
      As soon as Richard knew about it, he sent a spy
      to know where Thibalt was, and how many people he had with him.

Descendants

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