Cuándo is the Spanish question word for “when.”
It is used to ask about time, dates, schedules, and events.
Whenever you want to know when something happens, cuándo is usually the word you need.
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Here are some common examples:
¿Cuándo llegas?
(When are you arriving?)
¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?
(When is your birthday?)
¿Cuándo empieza la clase?
(When does the class start?)
¿Cuándo vas a España?
(When are you going to Spain?)
In each of these questions, the answer provides information about time.
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Like the other Spanish interrogative words, cuándo always takes a written accent when it is used in a question.
Correct:
¿Cuándo llegas?
¿Cuándo empieza la reunión?
Incorrect:
Cuando llegas?
Cuando empieza la reunión?
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The accent distinguishes the interrogative form cuándo from cuando, which is commonly used as a conjunction meaning “when.”
Compare these two sentences:
¿Cuándo sales?
(When are you leaving?)
Te llamaré cuando llegues.
(I’ll call you when you arrive.)
In the first sentence, cuándo asks a question, so it takes an accent.
In the second sentence, cuando introduces a subordinate clause, so it does not.
Learning this distinction will help you write more accurate Spanish and recognize the different grammatical roles of these two forms.
Questions with Interrogative Words in Spanish
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