/ˈkwando/
Translation
when (interrogative)
Word origin
From the same Latin quando ('when, at what time') as the unaccented cuando. Spanish already stresses this syllable naturally, so the accent changes nothing about the sound - it is a written signal that the word is asking or exclaiming about time, not linking two clauses.
- Origin
- Latin
- Root
- quando
Examples
¿ ?
When does the train arrive?
.
I do not know when I will be able to finish the project.
¿ Madrid?
Since when have you lived in Madrid?
Cuándo, with the accent, asks about time - "¿Cuándo vienes?" (When are you coming?). Cuando, without it, is the everyday conjunction that links a time clause to the rest of the sentence - "te llamo cuando llegue" (I will call you when I arrive). Both are pronounced identically, because the accent here is not marking stress the way it does in tú/tu or él/el; Spanish already puts the stress on that syllable in either spelling. The mark exists purely to flag the interrogative sense in writing.
As with qué, the accent survives into indirect questions: "no sé cuándo vuelve" (I do not know when she is coming back) still needs it, even though nothing in the sentence looks like a question.
Where this fits
Used in
Grammar articles
(5)The Spanish Diacritic Accent: tú vs tu, sí vs si, qué vs que
Spanish Question Words: Qué, Quién, Cómo, Dónde and the Accent That Asks
Spanish Question Words: qué, quién, cuándo, dónde, cómo, cuál, cuánto, por qué
Reported Questions and Commands in Spanish (me preguntó si, me dijo que viniera)
Spanish Word Order: SVO, Pro-Drop and the Five Rules That Cover 90% of Sentences
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cuándo: worksheet, infographic and listicle
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