nautical mile
Loading your saved state.
nautical mile
A unit of length used in maritime and aviation contexts that is exactly equal to 1,852 meters. It is also referred to as a nautical mile.
Das Schiff hat eine Geschwindigkeit von 20 Knoten, was etwa 20 Seemeilen pro Stunde entspricht.
The ship has a speed of 20 knots, which is about 20 nautical miles per hour.
The word is structured very logically: it consists of 'die See' (the sea) and 'die Meile' (the mile). A 'Seemeile' (nautical mile) is therefore literally a 'mile at sea.'
Die Insel ist zehn Seemeilen von der Küste entfernt.
The island is ten nautical miles from the coast.
'Seemeile' (nautical mile) is a technical term from maritime and aviation contexts. In normal everyday life on land, this unit of measurement is not used; people use kilometers instead.
Der Pilot berechnete die Distanz zum Zielflughafen in Seemeilen.
The pilot calculated the distance to the destination airport in nautical miles.
The nautical mile is directly connected to the speed unit 'der Knoten' (knot). One knot is exactly one nautical mile per hour. This unit is used for ships and aircraft.
Das Schiff fährt mit einer Geschwindigkeit von 15 Knoten, legt also 15 Seemeilen in der Stunde zurück.
The ship is traveling at a speed of 15 knots, so it covers 15 nautical miles in an hour.
kilometer
'der Kilometer' and 'die Seemeile' are both units for distances. 'Kilometer' is the normal unit in everyday life, on roads, and for many distances on land. 'Seemeile' is used mainly in shipping and aviation; one nautical mile is exactly 1,852 meters. They can be confused because both indicate a distance. The context is important: on the road or when hiking, you say 'Kilometer'. At sea, on nautical charts, or for flight routes, 'Seemeile' is more precise and more natural.
Der Kapitän sagt, dass die Insel noch zwölf Seemeilen entfernt ist.
The captain says that the island is still twelve nautical miles away.
Für den Ausflug planen wir eine Wanderung von zehn Kilometern.
For the outing, we are planning a ten-kilometer hike.