{"id":137593,"date":"2023-06-24T09:22:08","date_gmt":"2023-06-24T13:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/tan-vs-tanto\/"},"modified":"2025-01-29T23:13:41","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T04:13:41","slug":"tan-vs-tanto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/tan-vs-tanto\/","title":{"rendered":"Comparisons of Equality in Spanish: Tan vs. Tanto"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’re like many Spanish learners, you might be puzzled by the distinction between the two small words tan <\/em>and tanto<\/em>. Both words are used to make equality comparisons<\/a><\/strong>. That is, we use them when we want to say that two things are equal in some respect.<\/p>\n

But despite being related, they have different functions and behave differently depending on the context or their position in the sentence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Difference Between Tan <\/em>and Tanto<\/em><\/h2>\n

In Spanish, tan<\/em> is used as an adverb to compare adjectives and other adverbs. It\u2019s invariable, meaning it doesn\u2019t change <\/span>in feminine and plural forms<\/span>. Tanto<\/em> mostly functions as an adjective to compare nouns and changes form depending on the gender and number of the noun. It\u2019s also used with <\/span>como<\/span><\/i> to compare verbs.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Tan<\/em> means “as” when making comparisons.\u00a0<\/strong>And as you can see, very often the word como<\/em> (as, like) will appear when making the comparison.<\/p>\n

Mar\u00eda es tan guapa como<\/strong> Juana. <\/em>(Mar\u00eda is as pretty as Juana.)<\/p>\n

Los vasos son tan<\/strong> caros como<\/strong> los tenedores. <\/em>(The glasses are as expensive as the forks.)<\/p>\n

La ni\u00f1a espera tan pacientemente como<\/strong> sus hermanos.<\/em> (The girl waits as patiently as her siblings.)<\/p>\n

T<\/strong><\/em>anto, <\/em>on the other hand,<\/strong> means “as much\/as many” when used <\/b>as <\/b>an adjective<\/a>. It’s also used to make comparisons.<\/p>\n

You can see that, as with other Spanish adjectives<\/a>, the form changes depending on the gender<\/a> and quantity of the noun it accompanies. And like tan,<\/em> it’s often used with\u00a0como<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Tienes tanto<\/strong> dinero como<\/strong> Andrea. <\/em>(You have as much money as Andrea.)<\/p>\n

Como tanta fruta como<\/strong> mi hermano. <\/em>(I eat as much fruit as my brother.)<\/p>\n

Tenemos tantos coches como<\/strong> Pedro. <\/em>(We have as many cars as Pedro.)<\/p>\n

Quieren tantas piscinas como<\/strong> sus vecinos. <\/em>(They want as many swimming pools as their neighbors.)<\/p>\n

Now that you know today’s two heroes, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and learn everything about them.<\/p>\n

How to Use Tan<\/em> and Tanto<\/em><\/h2>\n

Tan <\/em>to Compare Adjectives and Adverbs<\/h3>\n

Use tan<\/em> when you need to compare two people, objects or animals and want to say that they share a quality (adjective) or they do something the same way (adverb<\/a>).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don’t forget about the word como,<\/em> which also appears in this type of comparison.<\/p>\n

The easiest way to remember all the ingredients here is by using the following formula:<\/p>\n

Tan + <\/em>adjective\/adverb\u00a0+ como<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Again, remember that the adjective always has to agree in gender and number with the noun it refers to! However, adverbs are always invariable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All things considered, your Spanish adjective\/adverb comparisons should look like this:<\/p>\n

El agua es tan barata como<\/strong> la leche. <\/em>(The water is as cheap as the milk.)<\/p>\n

Los ni\u00f1os son tan altos como<\/strong> las ni\u00f1as. <\/em>(The boys are as tall as the girls.)<\/p>\n

Las tortugas son tan viejas como<\/strong> esta casa. <\/em>(The turtles are as old as this house.)<\/p>\n

La liebre corre tan r\u00e1pido como<\/strong> el conejo. <\/em>(The hare runs as fast as the rabbit.)<\/p>\n

Mar\u00eda escribe tan hermoso como<\/strong> Ana. <\/em>(Mar\u00eda writes as beautifully as Ana.)<\/p>\n

If you have a situation where you want to say that two people, objects or animals are not equal in some respect, the only thing you have to do is negate the verb<\/a> by adding no<\/strong><\/em> in front of it:<\/p>\n

El zumo no es tan caro como<\/strong> el agua. <\/em>(The juice is not as expensive as the water.)<\/p>\n

Los ni\u00f1os no son tan r\u00e1pidos como<\/strong> las ni\u00f1as. <\/em>(The boys are not as fast as the girls.)<\/p>\n

Esta casa no es tan grande como<\/strong> la m\u00eda. <\/em>(This house is not as big as mine.)<\/p>\n

El conejo no corre tan elegantemente como<\/strong> la liebre. <\/em>(The rabbit doesn’t run as elegantly as the hare.)<\/p>\n

Ana no escribe tan lento como<\/strong> Mar\u00eda. <\/em>(Ana doesn’t write as slow as Mar\u00eda.)<\/p>\n

Tanto<\/em> to Compare Nouns<\/h3>\n

If you want to compare nouns, you should use tanto <\/em>and its siblings instead of tan<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As with every Spanish adjective, the sibling you use will depend on the gender and number of the noun you’re trying to compare. Use:<\/p>\n

Tanto <\/strong><\/em>for masculine, singular (uncountable) nouns<\/a>
\nTanta <\/em><\/strong>for feminine, singular (uncountable) nouns<\/a>
\nTantos <\/em><\/strong>for masculine, plural nouns
\nTantas <\/em><\/strong>for feminine, plural nouns<\/p>\n

Remember that this family of adjectives has a close friendship with the word como <\/em>as well:<\/p>\n

Tanto\/a\/os\/as <\/em>+ noun + como\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Let’s take a look at some examples:<\/p>\n

Bebo tanto t\u00e9 como<\/strong> t\u00fa. <\/em>(I drink as much tea as you.)<\/p>\n

Tenemos tanta suerte como<\/strong> ellos. <\/em>(We have as much luck as them.)<\/p>\n

Pepe lee tantos libros como<\/strong> Miranda. <\/em>(Pepe reads as many books as Miranda.)<\/p>\n

Mam\u00e1 necesita tantas pistas como<\/strong> t\u00fa. <\/em>(Mom needs as many hints as you.)<\/p>\n

Just like when we use tan,<\/em> we can negate the sentences by just adding no<\/em><\/strong> in front of the verb:<\/p>\n

T\u00fa no bebes tanto caf\u00e9 como<\/strong> \u00e9l. <\/em>(You don’t drink as much coffee as him.)<\/p>\n

Ellos no tienen tanta suerte como<\/strong> yo. <\/em>(They don’t have as much luck as me.)<\/p>\n

Miranda no lee tantos libros como<\/strong> Pedro. <\/em>(Miranda doesn’t read as many books as Pedro.)<\/p>\n

T\u00fa no necesitas tantas pistas como<\/strong> Anna. <\/em>(You don’t need as many hints as Anna.)<\/p>\n

Tanto Como<\/em> to Compare Verbs<\/h3>\n

Yes, you can compare actions, too! Or rather, you can say that two people or animals do something the same way, or with the same intensity, or in equal amounts<\/strong>\u2014just to name a couple of situations.<\/p>\n

For this use, you’ll always use the words tanto como <\/em>after the verb.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Watch out, though! Tanto <\/em>here isn’t an adjective, so it’s invariable (meaning always the same, no matter the context).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The formula this time is:<\/p>\n

Verb + tanto como <\/em>+ verb\/noun<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have a look at some examples:<\/p>\n

Mar\u00eda come tanto como<\/strong> Pedro. <\/em>(Mar\u00eda eats as much as Pedro.)<\/p>\n

Juan no estudia tanto como<\/strong> C\u00e9sar. <\/em>(Juan doesn’t study as much as C\u00e9sar.)<\/p>\n

Yo no juego tanto como<\/strong> deber\u00eda. <\/em>(I don’t play as much as I should.)<\/p>\n

Ella no cocina tanto como<\/strong> limpia. <\/em>(She doesn’t cook as much as she cleans.)<\/p>\n

Special Cases for Using Tan<\/em> and Tanto<\/em><\/h3>\n

There are a couple of special situations where tan<\/em> and tanto<\/em> behave differently or are accompanied by words other than como<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Here are the most important special cases:<\/p>\n

Tan <\/em>+ adjective\/adverb\u00a0+ que <\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong>Use this formula when you want to make a deduction or affirmation about someone or something:<\/p>\n

Juan es tan inteligente que<\/strong> se aburre en clase. <\/em>(Juan is so intelligent that he gets bored in class.)<\/p>\n

El libro es tan caro que<\/strong> nadie lo quiere comprar. <\/em>(The book is so expensive that no one wants to buy it.)<\/p>\n

Tanto\/a\/os\/as <\/em>+ noun\u00a0+ que <\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong>Use this construction when you want to say “so much\/many” of something that something happens as a result:<\/p>\n

Comi\u00f3 tanto helado que<\/strong> se puso enfermo. <\/em>(He ate so much ice cream he got sick.)<\/p>\n

Hab\u00eda tanta gente que<\/strong> tuvieron que cerrar el puente. <\/em>(There were so many people they had to close the bridge.)<\/p>\n

Tanto <\/em>+ noun + como <\/em>+ noun<\/p>\n

<\/strong>Use this formula when you want to say that both A and B do something:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tanto Pedro como Juan<\/strong> leen mucho. <\/em>(Both Pedro and Juan read a lot.)<\/p>\n

Tanto el vaso como el tenedor<\/strong> costaron 20 d\u00f3lares. <\/em>(Both the glass and the fork cost $20.)<\/p>\n

Tanto Gracita como Antonio<\/strong> son muy felices. <\/em>(Both Gracita and Antonio are very happy.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As you can see, tan <\/em>and tanto <\/em>are small but powerful words that can help you easily build equality comparisons in Spanish.<\/p>\n

If you need more practice seeing tan<\/em> and tanto<\/em> in different contexts, you can use a program like FluentU<\/a><\/strong>.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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