# FR: How <adjective> is X?



## Ivankeri

Hi everyone, 

I've been studying French as my 3rd language for almost six months now and I just bumped into a "petty" problem while translating the following question from English to French:

How (adjective) is something/someone? 

examples:

How big is your house?

How tall is he?

How white is the sand (there)?

How funny is he (, really)?


Given the case that some Romance-language speaker may be able to give some hint as to how to translate this, I shall give the Spanish translation also:

*Moderator note: *multiple threads merged to create this one


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## Bléros

Ah, I translating "how" into French.

* How big is your house?*
(Jusqu'à/À) quel point est ta maison grande ?

* How tall is he?
*Quelle taille fait-il ? (I have know idea why "faire" is used)

* How white is the sand (there)?
*(Jusqu'à/À) quel point est le sable blanc ?

How funny is he (, really)?
(Jusqu'à/À) quel point est-il vraiment drôle ?

You can also replace the "jusqu'à/à quel point" with "combien".


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## Harmione

Bléros said:


> Ah, I translating "how" into French.
> 
> * How big is your house?*
> (Jusqu'à/À) quel point est ta maison grande ?
> 
> A l'oral on pourrait dire _ta maison est grande comment?_
> A l'écrit, on doit tourner la phrase autrement: _De quelle taille est ta maison?  Ta maison est-elle grande?_
> 
> * How tall is he?
> *Quelle taille fait-il ? (I have know idea why "faire" is used)
> 
> * How white is the sand (there)?
> *(Jusqu'à/À) quel point est le sable blanc ?
> 
> A quel point le sable est-il blanc à cet endroit?
> or (more frequent) Le sable est-il vraiment blanc?
> 
> 
> How funny is he (, really)?
> (Jusqu'à/À) quel point est-il vraiment drôle ?
> 
> Est-il vraiment drôle?
> 
> You can also replace the "jusqu'à/à quel point" with "combien".
> 
> Pas dans les exemples que vous donnez!


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## angeboy

Hi everybody !

Could somebody please tell me how to say "how good are you at kissing?

I know we can use the word "bon" with adjectives like:
être bon aux échecs or être bon en physique

but here we have a verb 
I know I can use a noun for a verb, for example:
I am good at reading = je suis un bon lecteur

but "un bon embrasseur"? and what about the expression "how good..."
as far as i know "how" in that case can be transaled as "comme"
for exemple: how intelligent you are !! comme tu es intelligent !! 

but it seems that neither of those two expressions is adequate for this phrase
would I have to opt to simply say : comment tu embrasses? mauvais , bien ,excellent?
tu es un bon embrasseur?

I think I need some help with this phrase
thanks in advance ! =)


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## Lacuzon

Hi,

That's a good question, I'm afraid it's not the kind of sentence a French person would say. Could you provide us more context?


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## angeboy

Hi Lacuzon, thanks for reading my thread
Well, I just saw the phrase in an AD and I started wondering how I could translate that phrase in French
In that phrase we are trying to know the degree, the rank or the classification of a person related to kissing someone
I think that's what French people call "une colle"


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## Lly4n4

Hi all!
Maybe something like "_Est-ce que tu embrasses bien ?_" or "_Sais-tu bien embrasser ?_". "_Est-ce que tu maîtrises l'art d'embrasser ?_"
I'm afraid it is easier to ask "est-ce que tu es un bon coup" / "es-tu bon au lit"...


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## jann

Lly4n4 said:


> Maybe something like "_Est-ce que tu embrasses bien ?_" or "_Sais-tu bien embrasser ?_". "_Est-ce que tu maîtrises l'art d'embrasser ?_"


These questions address the same general idea, but they are fundamentally different constructions because they expect a simple yes/no answer.

The English question "how {adjective} are you...?" cannot be answered with yes or no.  It requires an evaluation of intensity or degree. The answer to "How {good/tired/interested/funny/etc.} are you?" will include some idea of (very/not very/not at all/etc.).


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## Lly4n4

jann said:


> The English question "how {adjective} are you...?" cannot be answered with yes or no.  It requires an evaluation of intensity or degree. The answer to "How {good/tired/interested/funny/etc.} are you?" will include some idea of (very/not very/not at all/etc.).



I completely agree with you on the gradation, but in a question about kissing, it is strange to use such a form in casual French talks / test headlines in women's magazines: "_A quel point sais-tu bien embrasser ?_". 
Maybe "_Tu sais bien embrasser ou pas ?_" (only spoken).


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## Lacuzon

Hi,

Well, I agree with both Jann ad Lly4n4.

I mean that for a general question, I would go for something like «Comment maîtrisez-vous l'art d'embrasser ?» or «Comment maîtrisez-vous l'art du baiser ?» (be carreful, do not use de instead of du because the verb has a very different meaning) or «quelle est votre maîtrise de l'art d'embrasser/du baiser ?». But it sounds a little formal for such a question.

Of course, you also could say «Savez-vous bien embrasser ?» or «Comment embrassez-vous ?» but only the context will tell you whether the expected answer is a yes/no or a how much one. If it is an MCQ in a feminine magazine, these two last sentences fit well because the MCQ implies it is a how much question.

If it is just before kissing someone «Voyons comment tu embrasses...».

If you're asking a friend if he/she is good at kissing «Pour embrasser, tu te défends comment ?» or «Pour embrasser, tu t'en sors comment ?»


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## angeboy

Thank you all very much!!
 You have been so helpful, now I see there are several options according to the context, but I would surely know how to translate that phrase in French  if I ever happen to need it =)


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## jann

Lly4n4 said:


> I completely agree with you on the gradation, but in a question about kissing, it is strange to use such a form in casual French talks / test headlines in women's magazines: "_A quel point sais-tu bien embrasser ?_".
> Maybe "_Tu sais bien embrasser ou pas ?_" (only spoken).


Yes, of course!  I'm sorry I wasn't clear.  I only meant to clarify that suggestions like _Est-ce que tu embrasses bien ?, etc._ weren't strictly equivalent to the English version.  I realize that a literal translation isn't going to sound stilted in French, as per Lacuzon's comment, "I'm afraid it's not the kind of sentence a French person would say."  

Fortunately there are lots of good suggestions in this thread for non-literal translations.


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## Sebastian2008

Salut.
I have looked at other threads regarding "How (adjective) is (an object/person), but I don't really understand them too well. Can someone help me understand this construction?

For example:  How small is your house?   How upset are you?  How smart is that girl?  (These are just examples, I don't need these specifially translated)

I have seen "de quelle grandeur" and "à quel point" but I don't understand the differences and how to use them.  

My attempts at my above examples "De quelle grandeur est ta maison?  A quel point es-tu fâché?  A quel point la fille est-elle intelligente"

Could you also "flip the question around" and say "The girl is how intelligent? / La fille est intelligent à quel point"?
Thanks for all the gracious help here.  You're life-savers.


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## Maître Capello

Most of the time, you can simply use the phrase _à quel point_ :

How *small* is your house? = _À quel point ta maison est-elle *petite* ?_ (formal) / _À quel point est-ce que ta maison est *petite* ?_ (standard) / _Ta maison est *petite* à quel point ?_ (colloquial)

But if the question is about a "positive" quality (e.g., _big, long,_ etc. vs. _small, short,_ etc.), we would most likely rephrase the sentence:

How *big* is your house? = (_À quel point ta maison est-elle *grande* ?_) → _Quelle taille ta maison a-t-elle ? / Quelle est la taille de ta maison ?_

Note: _De quelle grandeur est ta maison ?_ translates as "*What size* is your house?" which is much closer to "How *big* is your house?" than "How *small* is your house?".


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