Cuanto mucho

Question

I was talking to a friend of mine from Argentina today. We agreed on a date and time for my next tango lesson then he said something like "Cuanto mucho estamos en contacto." I was puzzled by "cuanto mucho" and he said it wasn't particularly good Spanish and that he meant that if anything comes up we can let each other know. His wife said it was slang.

Has anyone else heard this phrase? Can you give me another example of it with a translation please?

Thanks!

oh, I just saw the guy is Argentinian...oh well, no idea then - 006595c6, Sep 11, 2017

if they are from Argentina, it could be used among young people. I didn't really know it with this meaning. - polenta1, Sep 11, 2017

Que te pasa, pebeta? No te gusta cómo chamuyamos? :) - 00fac92a, Sep 12, 2017

Me hablabas a mi? - Polenta, Sep 12, 2017

No. A Heidi que se queja de los argentinos. - 00fac92a, Sep 12, 2017

lol, en serio? Iba a mí? Pues ya lo ves: chino!!! lol - 006595c6, Sep 12, 2017

Polenta probably undestands this. :) - 00fac92a, Sep 12, 2017

Answer 1

This is yet another example that shows that the fact that someone's a "native speaker" doesn't necessarily mean that they speak "correctly".

Usually "cuanto mucho" means the same as Heidita describes as the meaning for "como mucho" or "cuando mucho": "at best".

So if I heard that, I'd understand it as "At best (or at least), we'll be in touch".

Given the context, it sounds a bit weird to me, but then gain, a great deal of what Argentinians say sounds weird to me, when at all comprehensible. ;-p

Perhaps Guillermo can shed a bit more light, if he happens to see this.

I agree, Gekko. All three mean "at best" to me. The sentence in the opening thread does not make much sense to me. Looks like an incorrect use. - 00fac92a, Sep 12, 2017

Answer 2

hmmm, cuanto mucho...eso me suena a : cuando mucho.

Crees que pudo decir Cuando mucho?

Mira este hilo de WR, yo no uso cuando mucho,

cuando mucho

En España esto sería : como mucho.

Thanks, Heidita. That helps a lot. I've never heard any of the three expressions. - alba3, Sep 12, 2017

Answer 3

oh well, cuanto mucho also exists...with the same meaning in Spain: como mucho.

in Spain this means: at best

Answer 4

Given the context, it sounds a bit weird to me, but then again, a great deal of what Argentinians say sounds weird to me, when at all comprehensible. ;-p

I agree, I am going to make a general statement here:

Los argentinos son muy raros

hala!! he dicho

guille, cielo, anda, no me eches del foro, sé bueno ;) - 006595c6, Sep 12, 2017

Echarte? Para qué? Con suspenderte unos días es suficiente . :) - 00fac92a, Sep 13, 2017

Answer 5

So if I heard that, I'd understand it as "At best (or at least), we'll be in touch". Given the context, it sounds a bit weird to me, but then again, a great deal of what Argentinians say sounds weird to me, when at all comprehensible. ;-p

Thanks, Gekkosan, I may be slightly off on the exact context since he lost me at "cuanto mucho". However, I'm quite relieved to hear that a native Spanish speaker has difficulty understanding Argentinian Spanish. I have been amazed at how little I understand when I listen to this couple talk to each other. It's mind-boggling. They played a video the other day in a class of a man talking about tango and I could hardly understand a word and normally I can watch a movie or listen to a podcast in Spanish and understand the vast majority of what's being said. My new goal is to get a grasp of Argentinian Spanish so I can go dance tango in Buenas Aires.

I am pretty sure that "fluent Argentinian" is not a mandatory requisite for dancing tango. It's quite an undertaking! :-D - Gekkosan, Sep 12, 2017