Place A + 离 + Place B + (Adverb) + 近/远
Reach for this when you want to say how far one place is from another — 'A is close to / far from B.' 离 is the workhorse preposition for measuring distance in Chinese, used for both physical space (my house from the station) and time (today from your birthday). It sits between the two anchor points, and the adjective at the end (近 close, 远 far) — or a concrete distance — tells you the verdict.
Structure
[PLACE A] 离 [PLACE B] (ADVERB) 近/远
[PLACE A] lí [PLACE B] (ADVERB) jìn/yuǎn
How to Think About It
离 measures the gap between two fixed points, not direction. The first place is the one you care about; the second is the reference. '我家离学校很近' means 'my house, measured from school, is close' — the subject is my house, school is just the yardstick. Swap them and the sentence still works but the topic shifts. Unlike 从 (from) or 到 (to), 离 never implies movement — only the static distance between A and B.
Examples
我家离公司很近。
Wǒ jiā lí gōngsī hěn jìn.
My home is very close to the office.
机场离市中心太远了。
Jīchǎng lí shì zhōngxīn tài yuǎn le.
The airport is too far from downtown.
学校离地铁站不太远。
Xuéxiào lí dìtiě zhàn bú tài yuǎn.
The school is not too far from the subway station.
Common Mistake
Learners coming from English want to insert 是 (to be) before 近/远 because 'is close' has 'is' in it. But 近 and 远 are adjectives in Chinese, so they take an adverb like 很 directly — no 是. Adding 是 makes the sentence sound off.
我家离学校是很近。
我家离学校很近。
Don't Confuse With
从...到...
从...到... describes a route or span ('from A to B'), often with movement or a measured trip. 离 just states the static gap between two points without implying travel.
在...旁边/附近
在...旁边/附近 says 'next to / near' as a location — answers where something is. 离...近 says 'close to' as a measurement — answers how far.
距离
距离 is the noun 'distance' or a more formal verb form of 离. Use 离 in everyday speech; 距离 sounds bookish or measured ('两地距离三百公里').
Practice
我家 ___ 学校很近。
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离
机场离市中心很 ___ , 要坐一个小时的车。
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远
Put in order: [很 / 离 / 我家 / 公园 / 近]
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我家离公园很近。
Translate to Chinese: 'The bank is not far from my home.'
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银行离我家不远。
Write one sentence describing how far your home is from your school or workplace, using 离.
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Example answer: 我家离公司有点远, 我每天要坐四十分钟的地铁。 (My home is a bit far from the office; I take the subway forty minutes every day.)
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode:
Related Grammar Patterns
Acquire by listening
Hear Place A + 离 + Place B + (Adverb) + 近/远 in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
Fluentide picks the next news episode at your level, so this pattern shows up again and again in real context. The transcript marks it, the audio drills it. Free to start, no card.