До университета отсюда меньше километра, но до метро — почти целый километр.

До basically means up to / as far as / to and it normally takes the genitive case.

In this sentence, до is used in a very common Russian pattern for talking about distance:

• до университета = to the university
• до метро = to the metro

Russian often expresses distance as “to X, from here, less than a kilometer”, where English would more naturally say “It’s less than a kilometer to X from here.”

So even though до is often seen in motion contexts, here it is part of a distance expression, not necessarily actual movement.

Because до requires the genitive case.

• nominative: университет
• genitive: университета

So:

• до университета = to the university

This is standard after до.

Because метро is an indeclinable noun in Russian. That means its form stays the same in all cases.

So although до still requires the genitive, the word itself does not visibly change:

• nominative: метро
• genitive: метро

This is normal for метро.

Russian often omits the verb to be in the present tense, especially in simple statements.

So:

• До университета отсюда меньше километра literally looks like
• To the university from here less than a kilometer

But the meaning is:

• It is less than a kilometer from here to the university

This kind of verbless sentence is completely normal in Russian.

This is a very important grammar point.

1. меньше километра

After меньше (less), Russian normally uses the genitive:

• меньше километра = less than a kilometer

So километр becomes километра.

2. почти целый километр

Here the noun phrase is acting more like a normal subject/complement meaning almost a whole kilometer, so it stays in the nominative:

• целый километр

So the difference is caused by the grammar around the noun:

• меньше + genitive
• целый километр as a regular noun phrase

You could say почти километр, and it would mean almost a kilometer.

But целый adds emphasis. It suggests something like:

• a whole kilometer
• nearly a full kilometer

So:

• почти километр = neutral
• почти целый километр = a bit more expressive, often implying that the distance feels fairly long or notable

In this sentence, it helps strengthen the contrast:

• to the university: less than a kilometer
• to the metro: almost a whole kilometer

Отсюда means from here.

It tells you the starting point for the distance:

• До университета отсюда меньше километра
  = From here, it’s less than a kilometer to the university

Without отсюда, the sentence would still make sense, but it would sound a little less specific about the point of reference.

Because Russian often avoids repeating words when the meaning is already clear.

So:

• До университета отсюда меньше километра, но до метро — почти целый километр

naturally implies:

• До университета отсюда меньше километра, но до метро отсюда — почти целый километр

The second отсюда is omitted because it would be redundant.

The dash marks an omitted element and also helps show contrast and pause.

The second clause is parallel to the first one. If expanded, it would be something like:

• но до метро почти целый километр

The dash makes the sentence feel more balanced and expressive:

• ..., но до метро — почти целый километр

It is especially common in Russian when part of the sentence is understood from the previous clause.

Yes, word order in Russian is fairly flexible.

The sentence could also be rearranged, for example:

• Отсюда до университета меньше километра, но до метро — почти целый километр.

This may sound slightly more natural to many learners because it begins with отсюда (from here), which matches English order a bit better.

The original version is also perfectly natural. Russian word order often depends on emphasis and rhythm more than strict grammar rules.

Yes. Both are possible:

• меньше километра
• менее километра

But they are a little different in style:

• меньше is more common in everyday speech
• менее sounds a bit more formal or bookish

In normal conversation, меньше километра is usually the more natural choice.

Not necessarily. By itself, it just states physical distance.

• До университета отсюда меньше километра
• До метро — почти целый километр

This means the places are that far away geographically from the speaker’s current location. In context, people may infer walking distance, but the Russian sentence itself does not explicitly say on foot.

If you wanted to make that explicit, Russian could say something like:

• пешком
• если идти пешком

But that is not required here.