etwas or etwa?
a2A single s separates them, and they are not even the same part of speech. etwas is an indefinite amount or thing - 'a bit' or 'something'. etwa estimates a number - 'roughly' - and says nothing about quantity.
etwas
An indefinite pronoun or quantifier: a bit, something. Stands before a noun or on its own.
Ich brauche noch etwas Milch.I still need a bit of milk.
etwa
An adverb of estimation: roughly, about. Stands before numbers and time expressions.
Die Fahrt dauert etwa zwei Stunden.The journey takes about two hours.
The mistake
Ich habe etwa Hunger.
Ich habe etwas Hunger.
Hunger is not an estimated figure but an indefinite amount, so it takes etwas. With etwa the sentence reads as though you were estimating your hunger to some approximate value.
Rule of thumb
If a number follows, it is etwa. If a substance or a feeling follows, it is etwas.
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