何と (nanto) means “how” | MotiTan Japanese Dictionary

More examples

この表現は英語で何と言いますか。ko no hyō gen wa ei go de nan to i i ma su ka

How do you say this expression in English?

Points to the manner or form that a speaker wants identified, so it often corresponds to "how" in a question.

どうdō: It asks how an action is done or what condition something is in.

物事の方法や表現のしかたを尋ねる意を表す語。mono goto no hō hō ya hyō gen no shi ka ta o tazu ne ru i o arawa su go

何と (nanto) is formed from 何 (nan, "what") and the quotative particle と (to), together asking what word or form something takes.

In conversational Japanese, English how can introduce a question seeking a word or reading rather than a method, which makes this adverb useful in basic exchanges.