How is it called or what is it called

What/How is it called?

Slap_dtp

Member

Hi!
Is there any difference between:
a) What is it called? / I can’t remember what it is called
b) How is it called? / I can’t remember how it is called

FromPA

Senior Member

Hi!
Is there any difference between:
a) What is it called? / I can’t remember what it is called
b) How is it called? / I can’t remember how it is called

sound shift

Senior Member

gengo

Senior Member

English has many idiosyncrasies, and this is one.

How do you say xxx?
How do you spell xxx?
How do you pronounce xxx?
How do you write xxx?

What do you call xxx?

frankd14612

New Member

English has many idiosyncrasies, and this is one.

How do you say xxx?
How do you spell xxx?
How do you pronounce xxx?
How do you write xxx?

What do you call xxx?

The sentences beginning with «How» are literally asking «how to do something» (using a verb) whereas the sentence beginning with «What» is asking for the name (using a noun) of something.

Illustration showing the difference: In the sentence «What is your name and how is it pronounced?», name is a noun while pronounced is a verb.

Las frases que comienzan con «How» son, literalmente, preguntando «cómo hacer algo» (con un verbo), mientras que la frase que comienza con «What» está pidiendo el nombre (mediante un sustantivo) de algo.

Ilustración que muestra la diferencia: En la frase «¿What is your name and how is it pronounced?», el nombre es un sustantivo, mientras que pronounced es un verbo.

«How do you call it» vs «How you call it» vs «How it’s called», which way is correct?

I stumbled across the following in a conversation with a friend who is not a native English speaker. Considering the context, what is the correct way to phrase the second sentence?

I need to buy something. I am not sure how do you call it in English.

To me, this sounds incorrect but I am not sure why. I can think of a few different ways to rephrase it, but which one is actually grammatically correct?

I am not sure how you call it in English.

I am not sure what you call it in English.

I am not sure how it is called in English.

I am not sure what it is called in English.

2 Answers 2

and welcome to ELU. The answer to your question is as simple as it is complicated.

There are many standard ways of saying things in one language of which there is no suitable word for word translation into English. Romance languages are an example, such as French.

The French do not say:-

Quel est votre nom? (although a Frenchman would know what you are trying to say).

A Frenchman would say this:-

And an Italian or a Spaniard would express the question is a similar fashion, as, in fact, would a Greek: Πως ονομάζεσθε («how are you called?»)

So how can be ruled out straight away. Both your other two might do, depending on the thing/idea/circumstance under discussion was. So «I am not sure what it is called (or what you call it) in English are equally possible. There is a third possibility:

I am not sure of the right word for it in English.

But that is no better than the other two. Choice between these is a matter of personal choice.

What is it called? VS What is it spelled?

I am writing a post about the difference between what vs how, but then got stuck with how to explain this.

We say ‘what is it called?’, not ‘how is it called?’ when we are asking the way to call something.

But, we say ‘how is it spelled?’, not ‘what is it spelled?’ when we are asking the way to spell something.

Is there a good way to explain this? Is it because, in ‘what is it called?’, we are asking about the name of the object, and not necessarily the way to call it? I think if I write this, that will confuse my readers even more because they can also think that the name of the object is also the way we call it.

4 Answers 4

How can always be replaced by «In what manner. » or «By what means. «, «What must I do to. » It asks for the method by which the verb is done.

Thus we can say «How is it spelled?» because the meaning is «What is the method to spell this?» and (possibly idiomatically) the answer is the letters needed.*

«How is it called?» meaning «What is the name of this thing?» doesn’t make sense: if you want to know the name of something, then «In what manner. » «What must I do to. » «What is the method for. » are inappropriate. As Greybeard comments, call in such a question means call forth, or summon. «What is the method to call it?» does make sense and «How is it called» is valid. You would get the answer «You speak its name.»

So, if you want to know what its name is, the correct question is «What is it called?»

*An exceptionally obtuse answer would be «You write the correct letters in the right order,» but even «How do I spell that?» (rather than «How is that spelled?») doesn’t really warrant that answer. Using the verb spell asks for information about the spelling rather than how to write.

Here are some questions together with the answers you might get from a native English speaker

Q: What is that animal called?

A: It is called a dog. English people call it a dog.

Q: How is that animal called?

A: It is called by blowing a whistle. We call the animal to us by making a high-pitched sound.

Q: How is that word spelled? The word you just said?

A: I said the word «family». It is spelled F-A-M-I-L-Y

Q: What is that word spelled?

A: I’m sorry, I don’t understand the question.

Note

The verb «to call» has many meanings. You may be confusing these meanings although originally they came from the same root. Examples:

Wife: I call my husband John by shouting «John!» very loudly because he is slightly deaf. In this case «to call» means to request someone to answer you or to come to you.

Mother: I call my son John, «Jack» because he prefers that name. In this case to call means to address someone or to mention their name to a third party.

This is essentially true (call, spell).

The logic to justify this usage is simply that a concept is being made to correspond to an element of a set, the set of representations, which are words, and the concern is with which element does that or, said otherwise, with what element is suitable for representation; therefore «what» is the natural word that is being suggested. When dealing with spelling the concern is with the means of implementing a code (how to implement the graphic form properly) and thus the word that is being suggested is «how».

How is it called or what is it called

«What is it called?» is used when asking for the name of something.

Instead of «How is it called?», you should say, «How is it pronounced?» to ask how to say a word correctly.

«What is it called» you are asking what something is named. «Like what is that color called».

«How is it called» is when you ask how something may be pronounced. Like «how is (a difficult saying word) called.»

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«How is this called» vs «What is this called»?

Which of the following is more suitable as a title for a picture with an arrow toward a part of the body’s anatomy?

I need this for a picture of a part of the body, that appears without information about this part. So, I need to ask what it is called in anatomical terminology.

5 Answers 5

In American English, it’s definitely «What is this called?».

«How is this called» is a common mistake with second language learners. If this phrasing is used, it will signal to any native speakers viewing the diagram that it was created by a learner.

Q. «What is this dog called?»

Q. «How is this dog called?»

A. «Using a dog whistle.»

WHAT is about the OBJECT
HOW is about the METHOD
WHY is about the REASON
WHO is about the PERSON(s)
WHEN is about TIME
WHERE is about LOCATION

what is this called [object.named] item.name
how is this called [method.named] item.naming method — written, spoken, pronounced

What is going on: OBJECT.event
How is [it*] going on: OBJECT.event.method

What did happen? OBJECT.event (short)
How did [it*] happen? OBJECT.event.method (long)
→ why, where, who, when

it* referring to WHAT, WHO, WHEN, WHERE

«How did Paris happen» sounds strange, but one could reply, «a long time ago, there was this tribe….»