Como in Spanish: Every Meaning from Comparison to Warning

The simple form

Put como between the two things you're comparing.

• Es alto como su padre. — He's tall like his father.
• Canta como un ángel. — She sings like an angel.
• Este queso sabe como el otro. — This cheese tastes like the other one.

The measured form: tan... como

When you want to say two things are equally something, Spanish frames the adjective with tan... como.

Note that tanto agrees with the noun (tantos libros, tantas sillas) but tan never changes.

The trap: como vs. que

Equal comparisons take como. Unequal ones take que. English uses "as" and "than" the same way, so this one usually transfers cleanly — but learners still mix them up under pressure.

• Es tan alto como su padre. — equal
• Es más alto que su padre. — unequal

The mood matters

This is the part that gets skipped, and it's worth two minutes.

If the way is known — already established, already stated — use the indicative.

• Lo hice como me dijiste. — I did it the way you told me. (You told me. I know the way.)
• Cociné el asado como lo hace mi viejo. — I cooked the asado the way my dad does.

If the way is open or undetermined — whatever way, any way — use the subjunctive.

• Hacelo como quieras. — Do it however you like. (Not decided yet.)
• Arreglalo como puedas. — Fix it however you can.
• Contestá como te parezca. — Answer whichever way seems right to you.

Same word, different mood, different meaning. Hacelo como querés would mean "do it the way you (currently) want" — a specific, known way. Hacelo como quieras throws it open.

Direct questions

• ¿Cómo estás? — How are you?
• ¿Cómo se dice esto en español? — How do you say this in Spanish?
• ¿Cómo llegaste tan rápido? — How did you get here so fast?

Indirect questions — the one people miss

There's no question mark here, so learners drop the accent. It still belongs.

• No sé cómo se llama. — I don't know what his name is.
• Contame cómo lo hiciste. — Tell me how you did it.
• Me preguntó cómo estaba. — He asked me how I was.
• Depende de cómo salga. — It depends on how it turns out.

The question is still in there; it's just embedded in a longer sentence.

Exclamations

• ¡Cómo llueve! — Look how it's raining!
• ¡Cómo me gusta este lugar! — I really love this place!
• ¡Cómo cambió todo! — How everything has changed!

A test that works

Try replacing the word with de qué manera (in what way). If the sentence still makes sense, it takes the accent.

• No sé cómo lo hizo → No sé de qué manera lo hizo ✓ → accent
• Hacelo como te dije → Hacelo de qué manera te dije ✗ → no accent

The rule that makes it easy

Causal como always goes at the start of the sentence. The reason comes first, the result second. You cannot flip it.

• ✓ Como llovía, no salimos.
• ✗ No salimos como llovía.

Compare with porque, which works the other way round and sits in the middle:

• No salimos porque llovía.

So the two are not interchangeable in position, even though both give a reason. If the reason comes first, you want como. If it comes second, you want porque.

Why this matters in Argentina

Starting a sentence with como is extremely common here — more common in speech than leading with porque. If you only ever use porque, your Spanish will be correct but will sound flatter than the Spanish around you.

With people

• Trabaja como mozo. — He works as a waiter.
• Te lo digo como amigo, no como jefe. — I'm telling you this as a friend, not as your boss.
• Como profesora, no estoy de acuerdo. — As a teacher, I don't agree.

With things

• Usé el libro como almohada. — I used the book as a pillow.
• Esto sirve como ejemplo. — This works as an example.

Don't confuse it with the comparison

Section 1's como says two things are similar. This one says something is that thing, in that moment.

• Trabaja como un animal. — He works like an animal. (Comparison — he's not an animal.)
• Trabaja como veterinario. — He works as a vet. (Role — he is one.)

Spanish makes you hear the difference from context alone. English does the same thing with "like" and "as", so once you notice the pattern it transfers.

Como si + past subjunctive

• Habla como si supiera todo. — He talks as if he knew everything.
• Me miró como si no me conociera. — She looked at me as if she didn't know me.
• Actúa como si nada hubiera pasado. — He's acting as if nothing had happened.

Note the mood: como si takes the imperfect subjunctive (supiera, conociera) when both things happen at the same time, and the pluperfect subjunctive (hubiera pasado) when the first one happened earlier. What it never takes is the present, and it never takes the indicative.

Como que + indicative

Same meaning, different machinery. Como que takes a full clause in the indicative.

• Es como que no le importa lo que le digo. — It's as if he doesn't care what I say.
• Siento como que me está mintiendo. — I feel like he's lying to me.

These two are interchangeable in meaning. Es como que no le importa and Es como si no le importara say the same thing. The second is a register up; the first is what you'll hear in conversation.

Hacer como que — to pretend

A high-frequency pattern worth memorising on its own.

• Hizo como que no me vio. — He pretended he didn't see me.
• Hacé como que no pasó nada. — Act like nothing happened.

The Rioplatense ¿Cómo que...?

With an accent, and worth its own line because it's extremely porteño. It expresses surprise or protest at what someone just said.

• —No voy a ir. —¿Cómo que no vas a ir? — "I'm not going." "What do you mean you're not going?"
• ¿Cómo que se canceló? — What do you mean it was cancelled?

What makes it different from si

Si is neutral. Como carries an edge: a warning, a threat, or at minimum the speaker's disapproval of the outcome.

• Si llegás tarde, empezamos sin vos. — neutral statement of a plan
• Como llegues tarde, empezamos sin vos. — a warning

Two things are fixed about this construction:

1. It always takes the subjunctive. Como no estudies, never como no estudias.
2. The outcome is always something bad, or at least unwanted. You can't say Como estudies, vas a aprobar — it breaks the tone the construction carries.