01
der Kilometer
kilometer
A unit of length equal to 1,000 meters. It is mainly used to measure distances.
example
Die Wanderung war insgesamt zehn Kilometer lang.
The hike was ten kilometers long in total.
der Kilometer
kilometer
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Meanings
Usage tips
Word structure
The word is made up of 'Kilo-' and 'Meter'. The prefix 'Kilo-' comes from Greek and means 'thousand', so a kilometer is literally 'thousand meters'.
EXAMPLE
Für einen Kilometer braucht man etwa 12 Minuten zu Fuß.
It takes about 12 minutes to walk one kilometer.
Use after numbers
With units of measurement like 'Kilometer' (kilometer), the form of the noun does not change after a number except 1. So it is 'zehn Kilometer' (ten kilometers), not 'zehn Kilometern'.
EXAMPLE
Wir sind gestern zwanzig Kilometer mit dem Fahrrad gefahren.
Yesterday we rode twenty kilometers by bike.
Typical collocations
'Kilometer' (kilometer) is very often used to state speed in the form 'Kilometer pro Stunde' (kilometers per hour). The official abbreviation for this is 'km/h'.
EXAMPLE
Auf der Autobahn darf man hier 120 Kilometer pro Stunde fahren.
On the highway, you are allowed to drive 120 kilometers per hour here.
Compare with
Kilometer vs Meter
meter
'der Meter' and 'der Kilometer' are both units for measuring length. The difference is the size: one kilometer is 1,000 meters. 'Meter' is used more for shorter lengths, for example with a room, a table, or a person's height. 'Kilometer' is used more for larger distances, for example between cities or on a trip. Learners may confuse the words because both measure length. The important point is: for small or medium lengths, you usually say 'Meter'; for long distances, you usually say 'Kilometer'.
Kilometer
Bis zum nächsten Bahnhof sind es zwei Kilometer.
It is two kilometers to the next train station.
Meter
Der Flur ist nur drei Meter lang.
The hallway is only three meters long.
In real life
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