how

Meaning

1. To what degree or extent.
2. In what manner:
3. In what manner:
4. In what manner:
5. In what manner:
6. In what manner:
7. In what manner:
8. In what manner
9. In what state or condition.
10. Used as a modifier to indicate surprise, delight, or other strong feelings in an exclamation.

what

in what way

why

how much

by what means

in what manner

what extent

what degree

whereby

what kind of

which way

as many as

for what reason

what kind

what like

which one

for what purpose

what sort

what amount

by what ? whence

at once

by which

from where

be sure

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/haʊ/

From Middle English how, hou, hu, hwu, from Old English hū, from Proto-West Germanic *hwō, from Proto-Germanic *hwō (“through what, how”), from the same root as hwæt (“who, what”). /hw/ > /h/ due to wh-cluster reduction in Old English; compare who, which underwent this change later, and thus is spelt wh (Middle English spelling of /hw/) but pronounced /h/ (it previously had a different vowel, hence avoided the spelling and sound change in Old English). Vowel change per Great Vowel Shift. Akin to Scots hoo, foo (“how”), Saterland Frisian wo (“how”), West Frisian hoe (“how”), Low German ho, wo, wu (“how”), Dutch hoe (“how”), German wie (“how”), Swedish hur (“how”). See who and compare why.