# what does quando mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 9, 2001, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843 "2001-07-09T16:20:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![curwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@curwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curwin)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/1 "2001-07-09T16:20:32Z")
There is this Heineken commercial here in Israel that has been playing for the past few months. They have a song in it that I finally found out was “Quando, Quando, Quando” by Engelbert Humperdinck. I don’t really like the song, but I really need to know – what does Quando mean? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/2 "2001-07-09T16:39:27Z")
It’s “cuando” and it means “when” ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/3 "2001-07-09T16:48:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by amarinth \* > \*\*It’s “cuando” and it means “when” \*\* In Italian it’s “quando” (and it also means “when”). And in fact the name of the song is “Quando, Quando, Quando.” You can hear it on “The Dance Album” by Hump. Or in RealAudio at [http://www.bp.lv/sounds/quando.ram](http://www.bp.lv/sounds/quando.ram) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/4 "2001-07-09T16:53:17Z")
> [@](#): > > I really need to know Yeah, me too. > [@](#): > > It’s “cuando” Actually, according to [this site](http://www.engelbert.com/discography.htm), that’s only true of the “Spanish mix.” The original is “quando” from what I can tell and I’m guessing it’s Italian. It’s “when” either way. Like with “Que Sera Sera,” the other lyrics are a big help. “Tell me when will you be mine/Tell me Quando Quando Quando/We can share a love devine/Please don’t make me wait again.” ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/5 "2001-07-09T16:54:23Z")
Sorry to tread on your coat-tails there, **Jeff Seigle**. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/6 "2001-07-09T17:01:07Z")
Hmmmm. After actually listening to this, I must say that it is supposed to be Spanish (South American motif in the music, a few Spanish phrases in the background near the end of the tune) but every reference I saw, including [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com), spelled it with a Q. The songwriter goofed. ---
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/7 "2001-07-09T17:05:26Z")
In latin, it’s cuando, which also means ‘when’. Shows you how much those romance languages ripped those good ol Romans off! ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/8 "2001-07-09T17:27:06Z")
It’s Quanto, with a Q, and means Quantum “(I) any of the very small increments or parcels into which many forms of energy are subdivided , or (II) any of the small subdivisions of a quantized physical magnitude” I believe the song was first recorded by Albert Einstein as the “Doppler Blues” in the 1930s and in the 70s it was recorded by the famous Max Planck as the “Ultraviolet Shift”. I hope that clears everything. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2001, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/9 "2001-07-12T02:00:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sailor \* > **I believe the song was first recorded . . .** Also covered by Schroedinger on his album, “Is the Cat Dead Yet?” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/10 "2001-07-20T19:39:16Z")
This thread goes to show how drastically Spanish dominates over Italian in the American mind. Just now I went to Starbucks and the so-called _barista_ was explaining to a customer that _grande_ is “Spanish” for ‘big’. Well, that happens to be true, but in the Starbucks context the fact is that they took their coffee terminology from Italian. He went on to say that _venti_ is the 20 oz. size, but if he’d thought about it, he would have realized that _venti_ is Italian for 20, since in Spanish it’s _veinte_ (pronounced “beinte”). I used to wonder why everyone says the phrase _mano a mano_ is Spanish, since it’s exactly the same phrase in Italian. Why not say it’s both Italian and Spanish at the same time? I got nothing against Spanish, one of the most beautiful languages in the world; it’s just that Italian (one of the few languages more beautiful than Spanish IMHO [sub]no I don’t got a cite for that, wiseguy[/sub]) keeps getting short shrift in America. I have a particular affection for Italian, it being the first foreign language I ever studied back when I was a wee bairn. Back in the 1950s and early 1960s, Italian was fashionable here, but now it has sunk into _oscurità_. Face it, when was the last time anyone heard of Mario Lanza? _"Volare_" was once more than just a car commercial. FTR: _Quando_ with a _Q_ is Italian and Latin. _Cuando_ with a _C_ is Spanish. Both are pronounced identically. The song _“Quando Quando Quando”_ (later recorded in English translation by E. Humperdinck) had already been a big hit in Italy during the early 1960s, granted that was before most of you were born. The original song by Alberto Testa & Tony Renis went (with my translation): _Dimmi quando tu verrai, Dimmi quando quando quando L’anno, il giorno, e l’ora in cui Forse tu mi bacerai_ Tell me when you will come, Tell me when, when, when The year, the day, and the hour in which Perhaps you will kiss me _Ogni istante attenderò Fino a quando, quando, quando D’improviso ti vedrò Sorridente accanto a me_ Every instant I will wait Until when, when, when Suddenly I will see you Smiling near me _Se vuoi dirmi di sì Devi dirlo perchè Non ha sensa per me La mia vita senza te_ If you want to tell me “yes” You have to say it, because It has no meaning for me My life without you _Dimmi quando tu verrai Dimmi quando quando quando E baciando mi dirai Non ci lasceremo mai_ Tell me when you will come Tell me when, when, when And kissing, you will tell me We will never leave each other ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/11 "2001-07-20T20:05:18Z")
Glad you got that off your chest, there, **Jomo Mojo**. Do you feel better, now? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![StephenG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@StephenG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StephenG)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2001, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/12 "2001-07-21T05:51:23Z")
Jomo Mojo, I agree with almost everything you said. 🙂 But, > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \* > **I used to wonder why everyone says the phrase _mano a mano_ is Spanish, since it’s exactly the same phrase in Italian. Why not say it’s both Italian and Spanish at the same time?** Isn’t that phrase _mano e mano_? And isn’t it Latin? (For the education of our **other** readers: meaning “hand to hand”, not “man to man”.) ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2001, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/13 "2001-07-21T06:22:05Z")
Yeah, I feel much better now, thanks. Obviously my trip to Starbucks had something to do with those run-on sentences. > [@](#): > > Isn’t that phrase mano e mano? And isn’t it Latin? No & no. In Italian, _e_ means ‘and’; _a_ means ‘to’ (the latter word is the same in Spanish). The phrase translated into Latin would be _manus ad manui_. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2001, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/14 "2001-07-21T08:07:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Thank you. Your marvellous. Your marvellous. Thank you. I’m Murph and these are the Magitones. Steve ‘the colonel’ Cropper, Donald Duck Dunn, Willie `Too Big' Hall and Tom `Bones’ Malone. We’ll be back with the Magitones for the Armada Room’s two hour disco swing party after this short break. Til then, don’t you go changing. Sorry, but I can’t think of that song without thinking of _The Blues Bros_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kaje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f04885/32.png) [@Kaje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaje)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2001, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/15 "2001-07-21T10:45:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jeff Seigle \* > \*\*Hmmmm. After actually listening to this, I must say that it is supposed to be Spanish (South American motif in the music, a few Spanish phrases in the background near the end of the tune) but every reference I saw, including [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com), spelled it with a Q. The songwriter goofed. \*\* Well, I think you may be wrong here. While it may be “cuando” in spanish, which is the language of _most_ of south america, in Portuguese it’s indeed “quando”. And Portuguese, aside from sounding a lot like Spanish, as we all know is the primary language spoken in Brazil, which with coastal cities such as Rio de Janeiro is chaulk full of “south american motif”. So the assumption that he was writing about brazil would explain the Q, the south american motif, and the “spanish” phrases in the background. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2001, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/16 "2001-07-21T17:11:54Z")
This song is about Brazil? What led you to conclude that? It’s Italian. It was written and performed by Italian guys in Italy. I don’t know how much Italian pop you’ve heard (a lot of it is really syrupy and not worth listening to), but it often has a strong Latino beat. Part of the similarity with other Latin music is that they all originate from Latin (obviously), but part of it comes from Italy having been occupied by Spain from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Some Spanish guitar strumming got into Italian music. If you listen to the 1950s Italian hit “_Chitarra Romana_” (Roman Guitar), the rhythm is definitely Latino. The Latino beat turns up in the Philippines and in unexpected places. Listen to the _filmi_ pop songs of India, you hear a lot of Latino rhythm, guitar strumming and all, which is very non-Indian. That’s because the music in the Bombay film industry has a lot of people from Goa, who come from Portuguese ancestry. The song “Quando Quando Quando” is anyhow Italian and not Portuguese. ---
**Author:** ![Kaje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f04885/32.png) [@Kaje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaje)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2001, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/17 "2001-07-21T18:29:26Z")
Ok well I don’t know a damn thing about the song in question. I was simply bringing together another poster talking about the latin/south american stuff with the OP saying it was a Q… my bad ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2001, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/18 "2001-07-21T23:25:50Z")
“Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati” or “When All Else Fails, Play Dead” Motto of the International Possum Brotherhood. (The Red Green Show on CBC) ---
**Author:** ![Neurodoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/848f3c/32.png) [@Neurodoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurodoc)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2001, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-quando-mean/71843/19 "2001-07-21T23:53:53Z")
Someone mentioned the quantum. In Romance languages the words for “when” and “how much” are similar. Int Italian, for example, “quando?” means “when?” and “quanto?” means “how much?”