πῶς G4459
how? (interrogative); somehow, perhaps, lest somehow
2. somehow, perhaps, lest somehow — Indefinite adverb expressing uncertainty, apprehension, or indefinite manner: 'somehow,' 'in some way,' 'perhaps,' or 'lest somehow.' Used in clauses of apprehension (μή πως) or indefinite possibility. Multilingual evidence clearly distinguishes this from the interrogative sense: Spanish 'sea que' / 'de algún modo' (in some way), Hindi 'कहीं' (lest/perhaps) / 'किसी प्रकार' (in some way), Korean '혹시' (perhaps/by any chance) / '어떻게든' (somehow), Swahili 'labda' (perhaps) / 'kwa njia fulani' (by some way). The shift from question-word to indefinite marker is typologically common across languages. 15×
AR["-","بِأَيَّةِ-طَرِيقَةٍ","بِأَيَّةِ-وَسيلَةٍ","بِأَيِّ-وَجْهٍ","بِطَريقَةٍ-ما","رُبَّما","لا"]·ben["-কিছুমাত্র","কোনভাবে","কোনোভাবে","কোনোভাবে,","কোনোমতে","না","যেন","হয়ত"]·DE["wie"]·EN["he","somehow"]·FR["comment"]·heb["אֵיךְ","אֵיךְשֶׁהוּ","אֵיכְשֶׁהוּ","אוּלַי"]·HI["ऐसा","कहिन","कहीं","कहेएन","किसी-तरह","किसी-प्रकार","किसीतरह","तो-नहिन"]·ID["ada","bagaimana","bagaimana-pun","bagaimana-pun,","entah bagaimana","entah-bagaimana","juga","kalau-kalau","mungkin"]·IT["come","come?"]·jav["bok-menawi","kados-kados","kados-pundi","kadosdéné","kadospundi","kadospundi]","mbok-menawi","mbokbilih","mbokmenawi","menapa,","saged"]·KO["어떤-방식으로","어떻게든","어떻게든]","어쩌든","혹시"]·PT["[também]","de-algum-modo","de-algum-modo,","talvez"]·RU["как","как-бы","как-либо","как-нибудь","как-то","не","не,"]·ES["acaso","de-algún-modo","sea-que","tampoco"]·SW["kwa-namna-fulani","kwa-njia-fulani","kwa-njia-fulani,","labda","labda,","pia"]·TR["belki","belki-","bir-sekilde","bir-şekilde","daha aşırı-","de","kendim","nasılsa","yetkisi-"]·urd["ایسا-نہ-ہو","شاید","کسی-طرح","کہیں"]
Acts 27:12, Rom 1:10, Rom 11:14, Rom 11:21, 1 Cor 8:9, 1 Cor 9:27, 2 Cor 2:7, 2 Cor 9:4, 2 Cor 11:3, 2 Cor 12:20, 2 Cor 12:20, Gal 2:2 (+3 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. how? (interrogative) — Interrogative adverb/conjunction introducing direct or indirect questions about manner, means, or possibility: 'how?' or 'in what way?' This is the dominant usage (103 occurrences). Multilingual evidence strongly clusters around interrogative forms: Spanish 'cómo' / 'Cómo,' Hindi 'कैसे' (how), Arabic 'كَيْفَ' (how), Korean '어떻게' / '어찌' (how / how is it that), Swahili 'jinsi gani' (in what manner). All translations uniformly deploy their standard interrogative adverb, confirming a single interrogative sense across all languages. 103×
AR["بِماذا","فَكَيفَ","كَيفَ","كَيْفَ"]·ben["কিভাবে","কী-করে","কীভাবে","কেমন","কেমন-করে"]·DE["wie"]·EN["How","how"]·FR["comment"]·heb["אֵיךְ"]·HI["कैसे","सबों-को","हुआ"]·ID["Bagaimana","Dengan-apa","bagaimana"]·IT["come?"]·jav["Kados-pundi","Kadospundi","Kepiye","kados-pundi","kadospundi","kepiye"]·KO["어떻게","어찌"]·PT["A-que","Como","como"]·RU["Как","как"]·ES["Cómo","cómo","¿cómo"]·SW["Jinsi-gani","basi","jinsi","jinsi-","jinsi-gani","mara","mtaikimbia","mwana","uliingia","vipi"]·TR["Nasıl","nasıl"]·urd["پھر","کیسے"]
Matt 6:28, Matt 7:4, Matt 10:19, Matt 12:4, Matt 12:26, Matt 12:29, Matt 12:34, Matt 16:11, Matt 21:20, Matt 22:12, Matt 22:43, Matt 22:45 (+38 more)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
πῶς, Ionic dialect κῶς, interrogative adverb of Manner, how? Refs 8th c.BC+; sometimes to express displeasure, Refs 5th c.BC+; to express astonishment or doubt, π. εἶπα; Refs 5th c.BC+; π. λέγει; Refs; π. φῄ; Refs 5th c.BC+; π. τοῦτ᾽ ἔλεξα; Refs 4th c.BC+; π. τοῦτ᾽ εἶπες α; Refs 5th c.BC+; also π. μὴ φῶμεν..; surely we must, Refs __b in dialogue, to ask explanation, with a repetition of a word…