Chinese Conversation · Level 10
90 words
Chinese word
离
Pronunciation
Pinyinlí
Meaning
- prepositionfrom
Example
学校离公司很近。xué xiào lí gōng sī hěn jìn
The school is very close to the company.
More examples
我家离公司很近。wǒ jiā lí gōng sī hěn jìn
My home is very close to the company.
Core concept
A reference point shows the gap between it and another place or time, whether something remains apart or moves away.
Common phrases
离家lí jiā
from home
离学校lí xué xiào
from school
离公司lí gōng sī
from the company
Similar words
从cóng: Marks the place or time where an action, journey, or period begins.
在zài: Marks the place where someone or something is located or the time when an event occurs.
到dào: Marks the place or time that an action, journey, or period ends at.
Definition in Chinese
表示从某一点到另一点存在的距离或隔离关系，既可用于空间，也常用于表示与某一时间点的前后关系（如“离考试还有两天”）。biǎo shì cóng mǒu yì diǎn dào lìng yì diǎn cún zài de jù lí huò gé lí guān xì jì kě yòng yú kōng jiān yě cháng yòng yú biǎo shì yǔ mǒu yì shí jiān diǎn de qián hòu guān xì rú lí kǎo shì hái yǒu liǎng tiān
Word origin
离 (lí, "from; leave") preserves the separation sense of traditional 離 (lí, "separate"), so its distance meanings extend from physical space to the time before an event.
Usage tips
- English from often marks a source or starting point, but this word can mark a fixed distance with no movement; that contrast helps explain location sentences.