Expressing distance '(at) ... km from ...' = à ... de ... (prepositions)

2021-07-26

In French, to say that a place or a person is (at) a certain distance from somewhere, you use the expression:

à [distance] de [lieu]

Look at these examples:

Je suis à 5 minutes de Paris.I'm at 5 minutes from Paris.

Tu habites à 10km de Lille.You live 10km from Lille.

Note that the distance can be expressed as a duration - 5 minutes from Paris - or as a physical distance - 5 km from Paris.

ATTENTION:

In French, you must always use à before the distance:

Je suis cinq minutes de Paris. -> Je suis à cinq minutes de Paris.

Note also that when locations are introduced by the definite articles le and les, de contracts into du and des :

Je suis à 5 minutes du cinéma.I'm 5 minutes from the cinema.

L'école est à 15 minutes des magasins.The school is 15 minutes from the shops.

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Préposition

Examples and resources