Question word 'wie' (how, manner)

What it is. wie means how. You use it to ask about the manner of something - how it is done or how it is. It also appears in many fixed everyday questions.

Word order. wie goes in position 1, the verb stays in position 2:

• Wie geht es dir? - How are you?
• Wie heißt du? - What is your name? (literally: how are you called?)
• Wie kommst du zur Arbeit? - How do you get to work?

Combinations. wie teams up with other words to ask about quantity and degree:

• wie viel = how much / how many: Wie viel kostet das?
• wie alt = how old: Wie alt bist du?
• wie lange = how long: Wie lange bleibst du?

Common mistakes. Note that Wie heißt du? literally means "how are you called", so the English translation is "what is your name" - do not use was there. Keep the verb directly after wie. In wie viel the two words are written separately in standard A1 usage.

'wie' (how) asks about manner; also in fixed questions like 'Wie heißt du?'.

Use 'wie' for manner and in set phrases (Wie geht's? Wie alt bist du?).

'wie' fragt nach der Art und Weise; auch in festen Fragen ('Wie heißt du?').