fern
distant
Describes a large spatial distance; far away.
EXAMPLE
Sie träumte davon, in ein fernes Land zu reisen.
She dreamed of traveling to a distant country.
fern
distant
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Meanings
fern
distant
Describes a large temporal distance that lies either in the past or in the future.
EXAMPLE
In ferner Zukunft werden Autos vielleicht fliegen können.
In the distant future, cars may be able to fly.
fern
distant
Describes a weak personal or content-related relationship; not closely connected.
EXAMPLE
Er ist nur ein ferner Bekannter von mir.
He is only a distant acquaintance of mine.
Usage tips
Word family
'Fern' (distant) is closely related to the noun 'die Ferne' (the distance). If something is 'fern' (distant), it is 'in der Ferne' (in the distance).
EXAMPLE
Er schaute sehnsüchtig in die Ferne.
He gazed longingly into the distance.
In many words
'Fern' (distant) is the first part of many useful words that all have to do with distance, e.g. 'das Fernsehen' (television), 'die Fernbedienung' (remote control), or 'das Fernweh' (desire to travel).
EXAMPLE
Kannst du mir bitte die Fernbedienung geben?
Can you please give me the remote control?
Context clue
The noun that appears with 'fern' (distant) reveals the exact meaning: 'fernes Land' (distant country, spatial), 'ferne Zukunft' (distant future, temporal), or 'ferner Verwandter' (distant relative, personal).
EXAMPLE
Ich habe nur noch zu fernen Verwandten Kontakt.
I only still have contact with distant relatives.
Fixed expression
The expression 'aus nah und fern' is a fixed idiom and means 'from everywhere' or 'from near and far'.
EXAMPLE
Zum Stadtfest kamen Besucher aus nah und fern.
Visitors came to the town festival from near and far.
Compare with
fern vs weit
far / wide
Weit and fern can both express a great distance. Fern emphasizes that a place is far from a point of reference, while weit focuses more on the amount of distance that has to be covered. Use fern for the location and weit for the distance of a route or journey.
fern
Die Küste liegt fern von unserem Dorf.
The coast is far from our village.
weit
Bis zur Küste ist es von hier aus weit.
The coast is a long way from here.
In real life
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