Farther or further? Is there any the difference?

These two words are often confused. Do we talk about farther education or further education? Is Steve’s house a little further down the road or farther down the road?

There is a difference and it is easy to work out so that’s a relief!

Briefly “farther” is about physical advancement in distance and “further” is about other kinds of advancement; more abstract things.

So we talk about further education and Steve’s house being a little farther down the road.

Another example:

Shanghai is farther from London than from Beijing.

The police decided Mike’s story was further from the truth than Carol’s so they believed Carol’s story.