είναι τόσα όσα και X

Translations

• there are as many as there are X
• they vary as much as X do
• it's as diverse/numerous as X

Literal Translation

they are as many as and the characters

Forms

Usage Notes

The phrase requires agreement in gender and number with the nouns being compared. The structure is τόσος/τόση/τόσο/τόσοι/τόσες/τόσα + noun + όσος/όση/όσο/όσοι/όσες/όσα + και + comparison noun.

Etymology

This phrase uses the correlative construction τόσος...όσος (as much/many...as) in an idiomatic way to express the idea that something varies greatly or is as numerous/diverse as the comparison point.

Cultural Context

Used to express that something has great variety or that there are many different possibilities, often implying that generalizations are difficult to make because of this diversity.

• Think 'so many, as many' - the repetition of quantity words suggests great variety
• Remember τόσα όσα sounds like 'toss-a, oss-a' - tossing around many different options