How many meters: medir, pesar, de largo and el doble
English names size with an adjective or a noun: 'the bridge is a hundred meters long'. Spanish prefers a verb, and the sentence is built differently. For example: “¿Cuánto mide la mesa de largo?” — How long is the table?. A rule from the Spanish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English names size with an adjective or a noun: 'the bridge is a hundred meters long'. Spanish prefers a verb, and the sentence is built differently.
The main verbs are medir and pesar. El puente mide cien metros — the bridge 'measures' a hundred meters; la maleta pesa veinte kilos — the case weighs twenty kilos. The question is asked with the same verbs: ¿cuánto mide?, ¿cuánto pesa?, ¿cuánto mides tú? — how tall are you. Both verbs break their stem: mido, mides, mide, but medimos. A person's height in Spanish is precisely 'measured', never 'had': mide uno setenta — one meter seventy.
The second way is tener plus a measure plus de. Tiene dos metros de largo, de ancho, de alto, de fondo. An adjective works here, not a noun: largo, not longitud. The nouns la longitud, la anchura, la altura, la profundidad live on blueprints and in reports: la altura del muro es de dos metros — note the de before the number, it is obligatory.
Multiples and fractions. 'Twice as much' is el doble: cuesta el doble, el doble de caro, el doble que antes. Three times — el triple. Fractions are built with parte: la mitad (a half), la tercera parte, la cuarta parte. With clocks and shopping the fractions have their own names: un cuarto de hora — a quarter of an hour, un cuarto at the shop — 250 grams, medio kilo — half a kilo.
Approximation. Spanish has three ways of it, and they are not equal. Aproximadamente — for paper. Unos, unas before a number — the most ordinary: unos veinte euros. Más o menos and como — colloquial: como veinte. Apart stands de media — 'on average': duermo seis horas de media; in Latin America they say en promedio in this spot.
Table
| what to say | in Spanish | word for word | note |
|---|---|---|---|
| a hundred meters long | mide cien metros | measures a hundred meters | the most common way |
| two meters long | dos metros de largo | two meters of long | an adjective, not a noun |
| the wall is two meters high | la altura es de dos metros | — | the 'de' before the number |
| how much do you weigh | ¿cuánto pesas? | how much do you weigh | no tener |
| twice as expensive | el doble de caro | the double of expensive | three times — el triple |
| a quarter of the salary | la cuarta parte | the fourth part | but un cuarto de hora |
| about twenty | unos veinte | some twenty | colloquial |
| on average | de media | from the average | in Latin America: en promedio |
By example
- ¿Cuánto mide la mesa de largo?How long is the table?
- La caja pesa exactamente un kiloThe box weighs exactly one kilo
- La piscina tiene tres metros de profundidadThe pool is three meters deep
- Este piso cuesta el doble que el otroThis flat costs twice as much as the other one
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
How many meters: how does it work in Spanish?
English names size with an adjective or a noun: 'the bridge is a hundred meters long'. Spanish prefers a verb, and the sentence is built differently.
What does it look like in an example sentence Spanish?
“¿Cuánto mide la mesa de largo?” — How long is the table?. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.