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combien. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
combien, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
combien in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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French
Etymology
Inherited from Old French combien, from comme + bien.
Pronunciation
Adverb
combien
- 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 must one wait? How many nights to break the habit of rolling over in one's bed?
- how much (for money)
- Je ne sais pas combien d’argent j’ai. ― I don't know how much money I have.
- 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
Descendants
Further reading
Anagrams
Old French
Etymology
From comme + bien.
Adverb
combien
- how much, how many
c. 1170, Wace, Le Roman de Rou: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