wie viel weiter
The English phrase "how much farther" is translated into German as wie viel weiter.
wie viel weiter is a phrase used to ask about the remaining distance to a destination.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of wie viel (how much) and weiter (further/farther).
Which one should you use?
While wie viel weiter asks for the additional distance remaining, wie weit is used to ask for the total distance or the current distance from a point.
How does it change in a sentence?
In natural spoken German, wie viel weiter is often followed by ist es noch? to ask how much distance remains.
Did you know?
- When asking for the remaining distance on a hike, a local might not give you a number, but instead say noch ein Stück, which literally translates to 'still a piece'.
- The word viel shares a common ancestor with the English word 'full', as both derive from the Proto-Indo-European root '*pleh₁-' which relates to the concept of being filled or abundant.
- The word weiter is used as a command to keep talking. If a listener says weiter, they are not asking about distance but are prompting the speaker to continue their story.
Examples in context
- Entschuldigung, wie weit ist es noch bis zum Hauptbahnhof?Excuse me, how much farther is it to the main train station?
- Wie viel weiter ist es noch bis zum Bahnhof?How much farther is it to the train station?
- Wie viel weiter müssen wir heute noch laufen?How much farther do we have to walk today?
- Ich weiß nicht, wie viel weiter der Weg noch ist.I don't know how much farther the path is.
Example conversation
Maximilian and Sarah are hiking in the mountains.
- MaximilianWie viel weiter ist es bis zur Hütte?How much farther is it to the hut?
- SarahIch glaube, wir laufen nur noch zehn Minuten.I think we only have ten minutes of walking left.
- MaximilianDas ist gut, ich bin sehr müde.That is good, I am very tired.
- SarahWir schaffen das, Maximilian!We can do it, Maximilian!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries viel, weiter, wie, CC BY-SA 4.0.
