Oricât de rapid este ritmul, participantul încetinește.

to be

Breakdown of Oricât de rapid este ritmul, participantul încetinește.

• rapid: fast
• oricât de: no matter how
• ritmul: the pace; rhythm

Questions & Answers about Oricât de rapid este ritmul, participantul încetinește.

What does oricât de mean in this sentence?

Oricât de means no matter how or however before an adjective or adverb.

So:

• Oricât de rapid este ritmul = No matter how fast the pace is
• It introduces a concessive idea: even if something is true to a very high degree, the result in the main clause still happens.

You will often see this pattern:

• oricât de + adjective
• oricât de + adverb

For example:

• Oricât de greu este, continui. = No matter how hard it is, I continue.
• Oricât de repede aleargă, tot obosește. = No matter how fast he runs, he still gets tired.

Why is there a de in oricât de rapid?

In Romanian, oricât is normally followed by de before an adjective or adverb in this structure.

So the pattern is:

• oricât de rapid = however fast
• oricât de greu = however difficult
• oricât de bine = however well

This is just the normal grammatical construction. English does not need a separate word here, but Romanian does.

Why does the sentence use rapid and not repede?