How to Say “Is it within walking distance?” in Chinese
Getting around · HSK 3
"Is it within walking distance?" in Chinese is 走路能到吗？ (zǒu lù néng dào ma). Chinese doesn't really have a tidy equivalent of "walking distance" as a noun; native speakers rephrase it as "Can I get there on foot?" The pattern 走得到 / 走不到 uses the potential complement 得/不, which signals whether an action is achievable. 走路 literally means "walk road.
Primary translation
走路能到吗？
zǒu lù néng dào ma
Traditional: 走路能到嗎？
Variants by register
Formal
请问走路能到吗？
qǐng wèn zǒu lù néng dào ma
Casual
走得到吗？
zǒu de dào ma
When to use it
Chinese doesn't really have a tidy equivalent of "walking distance" as a noun; native speakers rephrase it as "Can I get there on foot?" The pattern 走得到 / 走不到 uses the potential complement 得/不, which signals whether an action is achievable. 走路 literally means "walk road." One cultural note: Chinese people's sense of "walkable" is often more generous than in the West; a local saying "近,走路就到" might mean 20 minutes. Ask 走多久? (how long on foot?) to get a real answer.
Example sentences
酒店离地铁站走路能到吗？
Jiǔdiàn lí dìtiězhàn zǒu lù néng dào ma?
Is the hotel within walking distance of the subway?
走路大概要多久？
Zǒu lù dàgài yào duō jiǔ?
About how long does it take on foot?
太远了，走不到，还是打车吧。
Tài yuǎn le, zǒu bu dào, háishi dǎchē ba.
It's too far to walk, let's just take a cab.