Chinese Conversation · Level 20
90 words
Chinese word
近
Pronunciation
Pinyinjìn
Meaning
- adjectivenear
Example
你家离公司近吗？nǐ jiā lí gōng sī jìn ma
Is your home near the company?
More examples
我们学校离家很近，走路只要十分钟。wǒ men xué xiào lí jiā hěn jìn zǒu lù zhǐ yào shí fēn zhōng
Our school is very close to home, and it takes only ten minutes to walk there.
Core concept
Two locations sit close together, with little space between them.
Common phrases
离家近lí jiā jìn
close to home
很近hěn jìn
very close
Definition in Chinese
表示空间或距离上接近，指两处位置之间的距离小。biǎo shì kōng jiān huò jù lí shàng jiē jìn zhǐ liǎng chù wèi zhì zhī jiān de jù lí xiǎo
Word origin
The character 近 (jìn, "near") combines 辶 (chuò, "movement"), a sign of travel, with 斤 (jīn, "axe"), which mainly serves as a sound cue, linking movement with getting close.
Usage tips
- English often puts near directly before a place, but Chinese normally links the two places with 离 (lí, "be away from") before stating that the distance is 近 (jìn, "near").