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bis zu. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
bis zu, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
bis zu in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
bis zu you have here. The definition of the word
bis zu will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
bis zu, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
German
Preposition
bis zu (+ dative)
- (temporal) until
- (local) up to, as far as
- (degree) up to, as much as
Usage notes
- When expressing degree and followed by a plural, it is predominantly construed like an adverb, meaning that the following phrase is not necessarily dative, but takes its construction from its syntactic function. Thus: Bis zu zwei Drittel der Insel sind bewaldet (“Up to two thirds of the island are made up of forest”), where zwei Drittel is treated as the subject, rather than Bis zu zwei Dritteln der Insel ist bewaldet, where the prepositional phrase as a whole serves as subject.
- When followed by a singular, the dative construction is usually maintained: Es fiel bis zu einem Meter Schnee (“There fell up to a metre of snow”), but at least informally bis zu ein Meter is also possible.