# A cách B: distance between places in Vietnamese (A1)

> Cách means "is … away from". The place you're talking about comes first, then cách, then the other place, then the distance: Nhà tôi cách chợ năm trăm…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/cach-distance/ · Updated 2026-11-09

**distance between places**

Pattern: `[A] + cách + [B] + [distance] · [A] + cách + [B] + bao xa?`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: A cach B, bao xa

*Cách* means "is … away from". The place you're talking about comes first, then *cách*, then the other place, then the distance: *Nhà tôi cách chợ năm trăm mét.* My house is five hundred metres from the market. With *cách* there's no word for "from": *cách* already includes it. You'll also hear the distance asked with *từ … tới*: *Từ nhà em tới trường bao xa?* There's no *cách* there, so *từ* (from) is needed.

To ask how far, put *bao xa* where the distance will go: *Vũng Tàu cách Sài Gòn bao xa?* How far is Vũng Tàu from Saigon? The answer keeps the order: *Khoảng một trăm cây số.* About a hundred kilometres. *Cây số* is the everyday word for a kilometre.

If the second place is where you are now, say *đây* (here): *Chợ cách đây bao xa?* How far is the market from here?

People often give the distance in time: *Khách sạn cách biển năm phút đi bộ.* The hotel is five minutes' walk from the beach. To ask how long the journey takes, use *mất*: *Đi tới đó mất bao lâu?*

Followed by just a period of time, *cách đây* means "ago": *cách đây hai năm*, two years ago. It's the same idea, measured back in time.

*Cách* also very often means "way, how to": *cách nấu phở*, how to cook phở; *cách nói*, the way to say it.

## A common mistake

✗ Nhà tôi cách từ chợ năm trăm mét.

✓ Nhà tôi cách chợ năm trăm mét.

*Cách* already means "away from", so it takes no *từ* (from).

## Examples

- Nhà em cách trường bao xa? — How far is your house from school?
- Dạ, khoảng hai cây số. — About two kilometres.
- Khách sạn cách biển năm phút đi bộ. — The hotel is five minutes' walk from the beach.
- Chợ cách đây bao xa? — How far is the market from here?

## Words in this pattern

- [bao xa](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/bao-xa/#s_bao_xa): how far

## Compare

- [Ago: cách đây](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/cach-day-ago/): … ago
- [From … to: từ … đến](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/tu-den-from-to/): from … to

Previous in Asking questions: [For how long so far: … (bao lâu) rồi](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/duration-roi/)
Next in Asking questions: [How long? bao lâu after the verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/bao-lau-how-long/)

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