Log inSign up

¿Qué número de pie tienes?

¿Qué número de pie tienes?
What shoe size are you?
From Lesson 73:In the shop: shoe sizes, light colours and the till (el número, claro, la caja)·Spanish (Spain)

Breakdown of ¿Qué número de pie tienes?

de
of
qué
what
tener
to have
el pie
the foot
el número
the (shoe) size

Questions & Answers about ¿Qué número de pie tienes?

Why doesn't this sentence use a word like "zapato" (shoe) or "talla" (size)?
In Spain, to ask for someone's shoe size, you literally ask for their "foot number" (número de pie). While there is a specific word for clothing size (talla), for shoes, Spanish speakers usually just use número.
Why do we use the verb "tener" (tienes) instead of the verb to be?
In English you say "What shoe size ARE you?", but in Spanish you "have" a shoe size. Therefore, you must use tener (to have). If someone asks you this, you would reply with tener as well, for example: Tengo un cuarenta (I am a size forty).
Why does this sentence start with "Qué" instead of "Cuál"?
It is a common rule in Spanish that Cuál cannot be placed directly before a noun. Because the question word is immediately followed by the noun número, you must use Qué. You could only use Cuál if you phrased it differently, like ¿Cuál es tu número de pie? (What is your shoe size?).

Learn ¿Qué número de pie tienes and more in Spanish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Spanish →