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Wir kennen die Umgebung noch nicht gut.

Wir kennen die Umgebung noch nicht gut.
We do not know the area well yet.
From Lesson 182:Travel and getting around·German

Questions & Answers about Wir kennen die Umgebung noch nicht gut.

Why do we use kennen here instead of wissen for 'to know'?
In German, kennen means 'to be familiar with' a person, place, or thing. Because you are talking about being familiar with an area (die Umgebung), you must use kennen. You would use wissen if you were talking about a specific fact, like knowing what the area is called.
The translation says 'not yet,' but doesn't noch usually mean 'still'?
Yes, noch by itself usually translates to 'still.' However, the fixed phrase noch nicht translates specifically to 'not yet.' If you think of it literally as 'still not,' it helps explain why German combines these two words.
Where does the word Umgebung come from?
It is built from the verb umgeben, which means 'to surround.' The suffix -ung turns verbs into nouns, making it mean 'the surroundings' or 'the area.' As a helpful bonus: remember that every German noun ending in -ung is feminine, taking the article die.
Could I put noch nicht at the very end of the sentence, after gut?
No, that would sound unnatural. The negation nicht (along with noch) is placed right in front of the specific element it is negating. Since you are saying the area is not known well, noch nicht must go directly before the adverb gut.

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