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Consider the two questions:

>   1. せんせいの しつもんに なんと こたえました
>   2. せんせいの しつもんに どう こたえました
>

I hope they both mean "How did you answer the teacher's question?"  
A previous question on this site suggested that なんと should be translated as
"as what" and どう should translate as "in what manner".  
So am I right in thinking that the expected response to questions 1) and 2)
should be different? Let's say the question the teacher asked was "what animal
is that?"  
If I was asked

> せんせいの しつもんに なんと こたえました

then I would answer with "I said it's a dog" for example. But if I was asked

> せんせいの しつもんに どう こたえました

, then I would answer with "I answered the teacher politely" or "I answered
her in a rude manner".  
Is this correct, or have I completely misunderstood the difference between the
two words?  
Thanks
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question
grammar usage nuances
なんと versus どう usage
For educational purposes, I am taking the liberty of adding 「か」 at the end of
the sentences in question. In informal speech, the question marker is indeed
often dropped, but in this case, the sentences are clearly not informal or
colloquial enough to drop it.

> 1)「せんせいの しつもんに **なんと** こたえましたか。」
>
> 2)「せんせいの しつもんに **どう** こたえましたか。」

1) can only mean one thing -- "What was your answer to your teacher's
quetion?" (Not a literal translation. Literal TL is difficult here.) It asks,
"What did you say?"

2) can **_technically_** mean two things.

  1. Same as 1).

  2. "In what manner did you answer your teacher's question."

In real life settings, however, sentence 2) would be used for the same meaning
as sentence 1) well over 95% of the time by native speakers.
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answer
"なんと" originates from "何と", and '何' means 'what'. "どう" is about 'how'.

So it would be better to consider if it is about what or how, although they
can be used interchangeably. If it is about how, "なんと" may/can not be used
depending on the verbs to use with.

If it is about saying/writing/reading, such as in the case of this question,
they would be interchangeable.

  * せんせい は えいご で なんと いう 
  * せんせい は えいご で どう いう

I Would translate both 'How to say Sensei in English?

However if it is about how to make, how to handle, how to eat, etc it should
be "どう".

すし は どう たべる？ (How to eat sushi?)

This should be "どう" and cannot be "なんと".
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answer