como and que

Question

When both words are used in a sentence of asking a question and their meaning is the word what when is one used instead of the other
ie que lenguas hablas?
como te llamas'

Answer 1

generally i use qué as what and como as how, however, you have really started something now . the problem with qué is that it can be used as a pronoun, adjective and an adverb.
pronoun - qué has dicho - what did you say
adjective - qué camisa le regalarías - which shirt would you give him
adverb - qué bonito - how pretty it is

como is generally an adverb my dictionary gives 15 ways of using como and 9 ways of using cómo. it purely depends on what you are trying to say. that´s the beauty of this language. isn´t it'

Answer 2

just found another 12 uses of que, without the accent, this time as a conjunction.
examples
creo que va a venir - i think THAT he is going to come.
eres igual que mi padre - you are JUST LIKE my father
más que - more THAN

it just gets worse, doesn´t it? suggest you send a comment to cherry. she seems well geared up on the grammer and will probably be able to give you some simple rules.

Answer 3

I'm beginning to realize that (que) after awhile those little annoying 2 & 3 digit words, just sound right or wrong.
The more you read or listen, the more it will begin to happen.

Answer 4

hi motley
you'r right there. when i read my two explanations again after posting, i was ready to pack the language in because i made it seem so difficult. but as they say in spain, "querer es poder".

Answer 5

Thanks for your confidence in me, Eddy.
¿Qué'= what ¿Qué quieres hacer? What do you want to do?
¡Qué! = how or what ¡Qué guapo! How handsome!
!Qué bebe mas lindo! What a pretty baby!
Que= that (relative pronoun) Te dije que iba a ganar. I told you that I was going to win.
¿Cómo'= how ¿Cómo es tu amiga? How is your friend. (Describe her)
¿Cómo vas a la escuela? How do you go to school? (method)
como= like (not the verb) or as Es como tú. He is just like you.
ÿl es tan alto como tú. He is as tall as you.