Difference between revisions of "Expressing distance with "li""
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{{Grammar Box}}  
 
{{Grammar Box}}  
  
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One of the ways to express distance is to use 离(lí).
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Are we there yet? One of the ways to express distance is to use 离 (lí). The word order might seem a little tricky at first, but once you get it down, you'll be able to talk about distance with no problem.
  
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== Structure ==
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== Using 离 (lí) in a Statement ==
  
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The structure is:
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=== Structure ===
 +
 
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Unless you're talking about a very specific distance, you'll normally want to pair 离 (lí) with the adjective 近 (jìn) for "close," or 远 (yuǎn) for "far."
  
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
<div class="jiegou">
  
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Place1 + 离 + Place2 + Adverb + 近/远
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Place 1 + 离 + Place 2 + Adv. + 近 / 远
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
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So this pattern is normally used to simply express that one place is (not) close or (not) far from another place.  Easy, right?  It's learning the sentence pattern that usually trips learners up, because it doesn't feel like natural [[word order]] to a speaker of English.
 
So this pattern is normally used to simply express that one place is (not) close or (not) far from another place.  Easy, right?  It's learning the sentence pattern that usually trips learners up, because it doesn't feel like natural [[word order]] to a speaker of English.
  
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== Examples ==
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=== Examples ===
 +
 
 +
<div class="liju">
 +
 
 +
* 我 家 <em>离</em> 公司 很 近。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ jiā <em>lí</em> gōngsī hěn jìn.</span><span class="trans">My house is close to my office.</span>
 +
* 美国 <em>离</em> 中国 很 远。<span class="pinyin">Měiguó <em>lí</em> Zhōngguó hěn yuǎn.</span><span class="trans">The USA is far from China.</span>
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* 这 个 酒店 <em>离</em> 火车站 很 近。 <span class="pinyin">Zhège jiǔdiàn <em>lí</em> huǒchēzhàn hěn jìn.</span><span class="trans">This hotel is very close to the train station.</span>
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* 那 个 酒吧 <em>离</em> 这儿 太 远 了， 我 不 想 去。 <span class="pinyin">Nàge jiǔbā <em>lí</em> zhèr tài yuǎn le, wǒ bù xiǎng qù.</span><span class="trans">That bar is too far away from here. I don't want to go.</span>
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* 我 不想 去 <em>离</em> 家 很 远 的 地方 工作。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ bù xiǎng qù <em>lí</em> jiā hěn yuǎn de dìfang gōngzuò.</span><span class="trans">I don't want to go work at a place very far away from home.</span>
 +
 
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
== Using 离 (lí) in a Question ==
 +
 
 +
=== Structure ===
 +
 
 +
These two sentence patterns are extremely common in everyday conversations when discussing distances.
 +
 
 +
<div class="jiegou">
 +
 
 +
Place 1 + 离 + Place 2 (+ Adv.) + 近 / 远 + 吗？
 +
 
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
<div class="jiegou">
 +
 
 +
Place 1 + 离 + Place 2 (+ 有) + 多远？
 +
 
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
Note that in English, you can actually ask, "How close is it from here?" if the distance is obviously short. But in Chinese it's just, "How far is it from here?"
 +
 
 +
=== Examples ===
  
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
  
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* 我 家 <em>离</em> 大学 很 近。<span class="trans">My house is close to the university.</span>
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* 你家 <em>离</em> 超市 远 吗？<span class="pinyin"> Nǐ jiā <em>lí</em> chāoshì yuǎn ma?</span><span class="trans">Is your house far away from the supermarket?</span>
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* 美国 <em>离</em> 中国 很 远。<span class="trans">America is far from China.</span>
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* 你 的 大学 <em>离</em> 你 老家 很 远 吗？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ de dàxué <em>lí</em> nǐ lǎojiā hěn yuǎn ma?</span><span class="trans">Is your college very far away from your hometown? </span>
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* 她 家 <em>离</em> 我 家 不太 近。<span class="trans">Her house is not too close to my house.</span>
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* 你们 公司 <em>离</em> 地铁站 近 吗？<span class="pinyin">Nǐmen gōngsī <em>lí</em> dìtiězhàn jìn ma? </span><span class="trans">Is your company close to the metro station? </span>
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* 我 家 <em>离</em> 公司 很 近。<span class="trans">My house is close to my office.</span>
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* 你 家 <em>离</em> 学校 多远？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ jiā <em>lí</em> xuéxiào duō yuǎn?</span><span class="trans">How far is it from your home to school? </span>
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* 这里  <em>离</em> 那里 很 远 啊。<span class="trans">From here to there is very far.</span>
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* 这个 酒店 <em>离</em> 机场 有 多远？<span class="pinyin">Zhège jiǔdiàn <em>lí</em> jīchǎng yǒu duō yuǎn? </span><span class="trans">How far is it from this hotel to the airport? </span>
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* 那 个 酒吧  <em>离</em> 我 家 太 远 了，我 不 去。<span class="trans">That bar is too far away from my house, I'm not going.</span>
 
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* 这 个 酒店 <em>离</em> 火车 站 比较 近。<span class="trans">This wine shop is comparatively close to the bus station.</span>
 
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* 这 个 房子 <em>离</em> 地铁 站 不 太 远。<span class="trans">This apartment is not too far away from the metro station.</span>
 
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* 咖啡 店 <em>离</em> 这儿 比较 近。<span class="trans">The coffee shop is comparatively close to here.</span>
 
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* 你 <em>离</em> 我 远 点 儿！<span class="trans">Distance yourself from me further.</span>
 
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
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This sentence pattern is extremely common in everyday conversations when discussing distances.
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== Expressing "Stay Away from Me" with 离 (lí) ==
 +
 
 +
One final example is a command, commonly heard in colloquial Chinese:
 +
 
 +
<div class="liju">
  
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Note that the final example is a command, and a commonly heard line.  It's a somewhat atypical usage when compared with the others, because it uses two people rather than two places. The sentence means "distance yourself from me further," in other words, "stay away from me" or "don't come near me."
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* 你 <em>离</em> 我 远 点 儿 ！ <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>lí</em> wǒ yuǎn diǎnr!</span><span class="trans">Stay away from me.</span>
  
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== See also ==
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</div>
 +
 
 +
It's a somewhat atypical usage when compared with the others, because it uses two people rather than two places. The sentence literally means, "Distance yourself from me further." In other words, "Stay away from me," or "Don't come near me."
 +
 
 +
== See Also ==
  
 
* [["From… to…" with "cong… dao…"]]
 
* [["From… to…" with "cong… dao…"]]
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=== Books ===
 
=== Books ===
  
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* [[Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar]] (pp. 112 - 113) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933330899/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1933330899 →buy]
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{{Source|HSK Standard Course 2|52}}
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* [[Boya Chinese Elementary Starter 2 (博雅汉语初经起步篇)]] (p. 11) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7301078617/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7301078617 →buy]
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{{Source|Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar|112 - 113}}
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{{Basic Grammar|离|A2|Place1 + 离 + Place2 + Adverb + 近/远|我 家 <em>离</em> 大学 很 近。|grammar point|ASGI96BQ}}
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{{Source|Boya Chinese Elementary Starter 2 (博雅汉语初经起步篇)|11}}
 +
{{Source|Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition|154}}
 +
 
 +
{{HSK|HSK2}}{{2021-HSK|HSK2}}
 +
{{Basic Grammar|离|A2|Place 1 + 离 + Place 2 + Adv. + 近 / 远|我 家 <em>离</em> 大学 很 近。|grammar point|ASGI96BQ}}
 
{{Rel char|远}}
 
{{Rel char|远}}
 
{{Rel char|近}}
 
{{Rel char|近}}
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{{Similar|From… to…}}
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{{Similar|Expressing "from… to…" with "cong… dao…"}}
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{{Similar|Comparing "li" and "cong"}}
 
{{Used for|Expressing distance}}
 
{{Used for|Expressing distance}}
 
{{Used for|Expressing location}}
 
{{Used for|Expressing location}}
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{{Used for|Describing places}}
 
{{Used for|Describing places}}
 
{{POS|Adverbs with Adjectives}}
 
{{POS|Adverbs with Adjectives}}
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{{Translation|be away from}}
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{{Translation|from}}

Latest revision as of 08:56, 21 April 2021

Are we there yet? One of the ways to express distance is to use 离 (lí). The word order might seem a little tricky at first, but once you get it down, you'll be able to talk about distance with no problem.

Using 离 (lí) in a Statement

Structure

Unless you're talking about a very specific distance, you'll normally want to pair 离 (lí) with the adjective 近 (jìn) for "close," or 远 (yuǎn) for "far."

Place 1 + 离 + Place 2 + Adv. + 近 / 远

So this pattern is normally used to simply express that one place is (not) close or (not) far from another place. Easy, right? It's learning the sentence pattern that usually trips learners up, because it doesn't feel like natural word order to a speaker of English.

Examples

  • 我 家 离 公司 很 近。Wǒ jiā lí gōngsī hěn jìn.My house is close to my office.
  • 美国 离 中国 很 远。Měiguó lí Zhōngguó hěn yuǎn.The USA is far from China.
  • 这 个 酒店 离 火车站 很 近。 Zhège jiǔdiàn lí huǒchēzhàn hěn jìn.This hotel is very close to the train station.
  • 那 个 酒吧 离 这儿 太 远 了， 我 不 想 去。 Nàge jiǔbā lí zhèr tài yuǎn le, wǒ bù xiǎng qù.That bar is too far away from here. I don't want to go.
  • 我 不想 去 离 家 很 远 的 地方 工作。Wǒ bù xiǎng qù lí jiā hěn yuǎn de dìfang gōngzuò.I don't want to go work at a place very far away from home.

Using 离 (lí) in a Question

Structure

These two sentence patterns are extremely common in everyday conversations when discussing distances.

Place 1 + 离 + Place 2 (+ Adv.) + 近 / 远 + 吗？

Place 1 + 离 + Place 2 (+ 有) + 多远？

Note that in English, you can actually ask, "How close is it from here?" if the distance is obviously short. But in Chinese it's just, "How far is it from here?"

Examples

  • 你家 离 超市 远 吗？ Nǐ jiā lí chāoshì yuǎn ma?Is your house far away from the supermarket?
  • 你 的 大学 离 你 老家 很 远 吗？Nǐ de dàxué lí nǐ lǎojiā hěn yuǎn ma?Is your college very far away from your hometown?
  • 你们 公司 离 地铁站 近 吗？Nǐmen gōngsī lí dìtiězhàn jìn ma? Is your company close to the metro station?
  • 你 家 离 学校 多远？Nǐ jiā lí xuéxiào duō yuǎn?How far is it from your home to school?
  • 这个 酒店 离 机场 有 多远？Zhège jiǔdiàn lí jīchǎng yǒu duō yuǎn? How far is it from this hotel to the airport?

Expressing "Stay Away from Me" with 离 (lí)

One final example is a command, commonly heard in colloquial Chinese:

  • 你 离 我 远 点 儿 ！ Nǐ lí wǒ yuǎn diǎnr!Stay away from me.

It's a somewhat atypical usage when compared with the others, because it uses two people rather than two places. The sentence literally means, "Distance yourself from me further." In other words, "Stay away from me," or "Don't come near me."

See Also

Sources and further reading

Books


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