Kiel is the table word for questioned or relative manner and degree. It often translates as “how,” but it also appears in comparisons meaning “as” or “like.” These uses share one core idea: kiel asks for or supplies the way, form, or degree in which something holds.
Locate kiel in the table
Esperanto’s 45 table words form a five-by-nine system. The beginning identifies the referential force, and the ending identifies the semantic dimension. In kiel, ki- marks a question, relative connection, or exclamation, while -el marks manner or degree.
| Element | Meaning | Related choices |
|---|---|---|
| ki- | questioned or relative | ti- demonstrated, i- indefinite, ĉi- universal, neni- negative |
| -el | manner or degree | -al reason, -om quantity, -a kind/quality |
The complete -el row is kiel “in what way/to what degree,” tiel “in that way/to that degree,” iel “somehow,” ĉiel “in every way,” and neniel “in no way.” The table is closed: forms such as kiele are not “more adverbial” versions of kiel.
Kiel vi sukcesis malfermi la pordon?
How did you manage to open the door?
Mi ne komprenas, kiel tiu aparato funkcias.
I do not understand how that device works.
The first is a direct question; the second is an indirect question embedded after mi ne komprenas. Esperanto keeps ordinary clause structure in the embedded question. It does not import English auxiliary inversion.
Asking about manner
The most concrete use of kiel asks “in what way?” The answer is often an adverb, a prepositional phrase, or a fuller description of a process.
— Kiel vi venos al la stacidomo? — Per biciklo, se ne pluvos.
— How will you get to the station? — By bicycle, if it does not rain.
Kiel oni prononcas vian familian nomon?
How does one pronounce your surname?
Bonvolu montri al mi, kiel oni ŝanĝas la pasvorton.
Please show me how to change the password.
In the last example, kiel oni ŝanĝas is a full clause describing the procedure. English often uses “how to change,” but Esperanto normally makes the understood actor explicit with oni or another subject. This is a useful place to resist word-for-word transfer.
Questions about condition also use kiel, because a person’s state is conceptualized as the manner in which things are going:
— Kiel vi fartas post la operacio? — Multe pli bone, dankon.
— How are you after the operation? — Much better, thank you.
This is ordinary neutral usage. Kiel vi fartas? is the direct conventional question about well-being; Kia vi estas? instead asks what kind of person you are or what qualities characterize you.
Relative kiel: “the way that”
Relative kiel introduces a clause that specifies a manner already mentioned, implied, or demonstrated. It commonly corresponds to tiel in the main clause.
Faru ĝin tiel, kiel ni interkonsentis hieraŭ.
Do it the way we agreed yesterday.
Mi ŝatas la manieron, kiel ŝi klarigas malfacilajn ideojn.
I like the way she explains difficult ideas.
La infanoj aranĝis ĉion, kiel la instruisto montris al ili.
The children arranged everything as the teacher showed them.
In tiel, kiel, tiel points forward to the manner and kiel supplies it. In actual usage, tiel is often omitted when the relation remains clear. Keeping it can make the correlation especially transparent for a learner. The clause introduced by kiel is not necessarily a question: its relative function connects one manner with another.
Degree and exclamation
The -el ending also covers degree. With adjectives or adverbs, kiel can ask “to what degree?” or intensify an exclamation. Context distinguishes the reading.
Kiel grava estas la ŝanĝo por la nuna projekto?
How significant is the change for the current project?
Kiel bele la urbo aspektas sub la neĝo!
How beautiful the city looks under the snow!
Mi ne rimarkis, kiel rapide pasis la tempo.
I did not notice how quickly the time passed.
For neutral degree, kiel is standard. Kiom can sometimes intensify degree—kiom bela!—but PMEG treats that as emphatic and recommends using it sparingly so that the distinction between degree (kiel) and quantity (kiom) remains clear.
Comparison and role
In equality comparisons, kiel introduces the standard of comparison. The full pattern is tiel … kiel with verbs and adverbs, or often same … kiel. With adjectives, tiel … kiel is also possible.
Mia nova telefono ne funkcias tiel rapide kiel la malnova.
My new phone does not work as fast as the old one.
Ŝi kuiras same bone kiel ŝia frato.
She cooks as well as her brother.
With a following noun phrase, kiel can identify a role, capacity, or classification: “as.” This differs from kvazaŭ, “as if,” which presents an appearance or imagined comparison.
Li laboras kiel flegisto en la urba hospitalo.
He works as a nurse at the city hospital.
Li parolas kvazaŭ li scius ĉion.
He speaks as if he knew everything.
The nurse example states his real role. The kvazaŭ example does not claim that he actually knows everything. The full comparison system is developed in equality with tiel … kiel.
Kiel, kia, kiom, and kial
English how covers several questions that Esperanto distributes according to meaning. The answer reveals the correct ending:
| Question | Requested information | Possible answer |
|---|---|---|
| Kiel ŝi kantas? | manner | Belege. “Beautifully.” |
| Kia estas ŝia voĉo? | kind or quality | Varma kaj klara. |
| Kiom longe ŝi kantos? | quantity of time | Dudek minutojn. |
| Kial ŝi kantas? | reason | Ĉar ŝi ĝojas. |
Kiel aspektas la nova oficejo? — Ĝi estas hela kaj sufiĉe vasta.
What does the new office look like? — It is bright and fairly spacious.
Here English uses what … like, while Esperanto uses the established expression kiel aspektas. Conversely, “what kind of” usually calls for kia, not kiel. The semantic question matters more than the surface English word.
No -j or -n
All -el table words are invariant. Kiel never takes plural -j or accusative -n, because it functions in the manner/degree domain rather than as an agreeing nominal or adjectival expression.
Kiel vi preparis tiujn legomojn?
How did you prepare those vegetables?
The plural and accusative endings belong to tiujn legomojn. They do not spread onto kiel. Even when the kiel clause as a whole is related to an object, the table word remains unchanged.
Norm, variation, and attested use
The meanings “manner” and “degree,” the comparison use, and the ban on -j/-n are part of the standard table-word system. PMEG notes that -el is the broadest adverb-like row: it covers manner and degree most centrally, but can also handle related meanings not assigned to time, place, reason, or quantity. This breadth is established usage, not license to use kiel wherever English happens to say how.
Modern speech and the Tekstaro both show kiel in direct questions, indirect questions, manner relatives, comparisons, exclamations, and role phrases. The safest pedagogical recommendation is to learn the manner/degree core first, then understand comparison and role as extensions of “in the capacity or way of.”
Common Mistakes
Inventing an adverbial hybrid
❌ Kiele vi solvis la problemon?
Incorrect — kiele is not a table word.
✅ Kiel vi solvis la problemon?
How did you solve the problem?
Using kiel for “what kind of”
❌ Kiel libron vi serĉas?
Incorrect for the intended meaning — this asks with the wrong table-word ending.
✅ Kian libron vi serĉas?
What kind of book are you looking for?
Adding accusative marking
❌ Kieln vi faris tion?
Incorrect — -el table words never take -n.
✅ Kiel vi faris tion?
How did you do that?
Copying English infinitive structure
❌ Montru al mi, kiel ŝanĝi mi la agordojn.
Incorrect — the embedded Esperanto clause needs normal structure and an explicit subject.
✅ Montru al mi, kiel mi ŝanĝu la agordojn.
Show me how I should change the settings.
Confusing reason with manner
❌ Kiel vi foriris tiel frue? — Ĉar mi estis laca.
Incorrect for the intended question — the answer supplies a reason.
✅ Kial vi foriris tiel frue? — Ĉar mi estis laca.
Why did you leave so early? — Because I was tired.
Key Takeaways
- ki- marks question/relative force; -el marks manner or degree.
- Kiel introduces direct and indirect questions, manner clauses, comparisons, and real roles.
- Contrast kiel manner/degree with kia kind, kiom quantity, and kial reason.
- Use kvazaŭ, not role kiel, for “as if.”
- Kiel never takes -j or -n.
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Start learning Esperanto →Related Topics
- The Table-Word SystemA1 — Learn Esperanto's 45 table words as a five-by-nine meaning system for questions, demonstrations, indefinites, universals, and negatives.
- Correlative Endings and Their MeaningsA1 — Learn the nine fixed correlative endings that select identity, thing, kind, possessor, place, time, reason, manner, and quantity.
- Case and Number on CorrelativesA2 — Learn exactly which correlative families accept plural -j, object -n, or directional -n, and which remain invariant.
- Kial: The Question/Relative Reason CorrelativeA2 — Ask, report, and connect reasons with kial while distinguishing causes, purposes, and neighboring table words.
- Kie, Kiam, and Kiel as RelativesB2 — Build relative clauses of place, time, and manner with kie, kiam, and kiel, including directional and prepositional variants.
- Equality with Tiel… Kiel…B1 — Express equal degree and manner with tiel… kiel…, distinguish equality from inequality and quantity, and control ellipsis and scope.