Long or loin? Describe length, journey time and distance in French
Use long and longue for length or duration, loin for distance and longtemps for time spent. Compare a route, a wait and a rope, then choose the right form.
In short
Long describes length or duration: un long couloir, un long trajet. Loin means far away: La gare est loin. Use longtemps for “a long time”: Nous avons attendu longtemps.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
What exactly is long?
long / longuelong
Focus: the length of an object or the time a thing takes
noun + être + long / longue
Cette route est longue.
This road is long.
L’attente est longue.
The wait is long.
loinfar away
Focus: the distance from a place or person
loin de + place
La gare est loin de notre hôtel.
The station is far from our hotel.
Ces villages sont loin.
These villages are far away.
longtempsfor a long time
Focus: how long an action lasts
verb + longtemps
Nous avons marché longtemps.
We walked for a long time.
Tu attends depuis longtemps ?
Have you been waiting long?
Describe length with long or longue
Find:
| Noun | Description | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| un trajet | long | a long journey |
| une attente | longue | a long wait |
| des trajets | longs | long journeys |
| des routes | longues | long roads |
| une gare / des gares | loin | a station / stations far away |
What is the difference between long and loin?
- Voyageuse
La gare est loin d’ici ?
Is the station far from here?
- Réceptionniste
Non, elle est à deux kilomètres.
No, it is two kilometres away.
- Voyageuse
Alors, le trajet en bus est court ?
So is it a short bus ride?
- Réceptionniste
Pas aujourd’hui. Le bus fait un détour et le trajet est long.
Not today. The bus takes a detour and the journey is long.
La gare n’est pas loin, mais le trajet est long makes sense: distance and travel time are separate details. Loin de chez moi means far from my home; près de chez moi means near my home. Keep de before the reference point.
J’ai habité ici il y a longtemps.
I lived here a long time ago.
Il y a longtemps places something in the past. Longtemps on its own describes a length of time.