离
Reach for 离 whenever you want to say how far one place or person is from another — 'A is X away from B.' It's the standard distance preposition: my home is far from the office, the school is close to the subway, the airport is 30 kilometers from downtown. It also handles time-distance ('two weeks away from the exam'). One of the first HSK 2 patterns where Chinese word order genuinely differs from English.
Structure
[A] 离 [B] [DISTANCE / 远 / 近]
lí
How to Think About It
离 measures the gap between two fixed points. The thing you measure FROM goes after 离 — opposite of English, where 'from' comes second ('A is far FROM B'). The verb 'to be' disappears: you don't say '是远' or '是近' or '是十公里', you just put the distance straight after the reference point. Picture two pins on a map with 离 stretched between them like a ruler.
Examples
我家离公司很近。
Wǒ jiā lí gōngsī hěn jìn.
My home is very close to the company.
机场离市中心三十公里。
Jīchǎng lí shì zhōngxīn sānshí gōnglǐ.
The airport is 30 kilometers from downtown.
现在离考试还有两个星期。
Xiànzài lí kǎoshì hái yǒu liǎng gè xīngqī.
There are still two weeks until the exam.
Common Mistake
Learners copy English 'from' order and put 离 in front of the subject, or insert 是 before 远/近. Both break the pattern.
我家是离学校很远。
我家离学校很远。
Don't Confuse With
从……到……
Describes movement or a route between two points ('from A to B'). 离 only describes the static distance, no movement involved. '我从家到学校走路' (I walk from home to school) vs '我家离学校很近' (My home is close to school).
跟……一样
Compares two things for similarity, not distance. Beginners sometimes grab 离 when they mean 'compared to' — always check whether you're measuring distance or making a comparison.
在……旁边
States location ('next to') rather than distance. Use 在 + position word when you want to specify where something sits; use 离 when you want to specify how far apart things are.
Practice
学校____我家不远。
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离
北京离上海____一千多公里。
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有
Put in order: [很近 / 离 / 地铁站 / 我家]
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我家离地铁站很近。
Translate to Chinese: 'The hospital is very far from here.'
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医院离这儿很远。
Write one sentence describing the distance between two places near you, using 离.
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Example answer: 我的公寓离公园只有五分钟。 (My apartment is only five minutes from the park.)
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode:
Related Grammar Patterns
Acquire by listening
Hear 离 in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
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