How come you say "Que tan lejos" instead of "Como tan lejos" when asking how far something is?

Question

If you are asking how far something is, wouldnt you use como instead of que?

Answer 1

how (como) in spanish does not hold the same menaing as it does it english always. we say "how far", but the understood question that we are really asking is "what distance". how in spanish is mainly just used in the descriptive manner, like to explain how something was done or how a person is

thank you - iqbal10, Oct 20, 2010

Answer 2

Actually I don't use "qué tan lejos" at all, that's probably limited to certain dialects of south america. We say "¿Cómo de lejos.."? or "¿Cuánto de lejos..?" to ask about distances in Spain.

Or "¿cuán lejos...?", althought some say it sounds old-fashioned... - LoaEtayo, Oct 20, 2010

They don't use "¿Cómo de lejos. . .?" in Ecuador. - lorenzo9, Oct 20, 2010

It does sound old-fashioned, at least to me :) - bill1111, Oct 20, 2010

Answer 3

You would use Qué. You must remember that many phrases do not translate word for word.