combien

See also: combein

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French combien, from comme + bien.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃.bjɛ̃/

• audio (France)

  (file)

Adverb

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

• c’est combien ? (how much is it?)
• combien ça coûte

Further reading

• “combien”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• combine, combiné

Old French

Alternative forms

• cumbien, cumben

Etymology

From comme + bien.

Adverb

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

• French: combien