Difference between revisions of "Expressing distance with "li""
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| − | * 我 家 <em>离</em> 大学 很 | + | * 我 家 <em>离</em> 大学 很 近 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ jiā <em>lí</em> dàxué hěn jìn.</span> <span class="trans">My house is close to the university.</span> |
| − | * 美国 <em>离</em> 中国 很 | + | * 美国 <em>离</em> 中国 很 远 。 <span class="pinyin">Měiguó <em>lí</em> Zhōngguó hěn yuǎn.</span> <span class="trans">America is far from China.</span> |
| − | * 她 家 <em>离</em> 我 家 不太 | + | * 她 家 <em>离</em> 我 家 不太 近 。 <span class="pinyin">Tā jiā <em>lí</em> wǒ jiā bùtài jìn.</span> <span class="trans">Her house is not too close to my house.</span> |
| − | * 我 家 <em>离</em> 公司 很 | + | * 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> |
| − | * 这里 | + | * 这里 <em>离</em> 那里 很 远 啊 。 <span class="pinyin">Zhèlǐ <em>lí</em> nàli hěn yuǎn a.</span> <span class="trans">From here to there is very far.</span> |
| − | * 那 个 酒吧 | + | * 那 个 酒吧 <em>离</em> 我 家 太 远 了 ， 我 不 去 。 <span class="pinyin">Nà gè jiǔbā <em>lí</em> wǒ jiā tài yuǎn le, wǒ bù qù.</span> <span class="trans">That bar is too far away from my house, I'm not going.</span> |
| − | * 这 个 酒店 <em>离</em> 火车 站 比较 | + | * 这 个 酒店 <em>离</em> 火车 站 比较 近 。 <span class="pinyin">Zhè gè jiǔdiàn <em>lí</em> huǒchē zhàn bǐjiào jìn.</span> <span class="trans">This wine shop is comparatively close to the train station.</span> |
| − | * 这 个 房子 <em>离</em> 地铁 站 不 太 | + | * 这 个 房子 <em>离</em> 地铁 站 不 太 远 。 <span class="pinyin">Zhè gè fángzi <em>lí</em> dìtiě zhàn bù tài yuǎn.</span> <span class="trans">This apartment is not too far away from the subway station.</span> |
| − | * 咖啡 店 <em>离</em> 这儿 比较 | + | * 咖啡 店 <em>离</em> 这儿 比较 近 。 <span class="pinyin">Kāfēi diàn <em>lí</em> zhèr bǐjiào jìn.</span> <span class="trans">The coffee shop is comparatively close to here.</span> |
| − | * 你 <em>离</em> 我 远 点 | + | * 你 <em>离</em> 我 远 点 儿 ！ <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>lí</em> wǒ yuǎn diǎn r!</span> <span class="trans">Distance yourself from me further.</span> |
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Revision as of 08:05, 22 October 2014
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Keywords
Are we there yet? One of the ways to express distance is to use 离(lí). The word order might be a little tricky, but once you get it down, you'll be able to talk about distance with no problem!
Structure
The structure is:
Place1 + 离 + Place2 + Adverb + 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 大学 很 近 。 My house is close to the university.
- 美国 离 中国 很 远 。 America is far from China.
- 她 家 离 我 家 不太 近 。 Her house is not too close to my house.
- 我 家 离 公司 很 近 。 My house is close to my office.
- 这里 离 那里 很 远 啊 。 From here to there is very far.
- 那 个 酒吧 离 我 家 太 远 了 ， 我 不 去 。 That bar is too far away from my house, I'm not going.
- 这 个 酒店 离 火车 站 比较 近 。 This wine shop is comparatively close to the train station.
- 这 个 房子 离 地铁 站 不 太 远 。 This apartment is not too far away from the subway station.
- 咖啡 店 离 这儿 比较 近 。 The coffee shop is comparatively close to here.
- 你 离 我 远 点 儿 ！ Distance yourself from me further.
This sentence pattern is extremely common in everyday conversations when discussing distances.
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."
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 112 - 113) →buy
- Boya Chinese Elementary Starter 2 (博雅汉语初经起步篇) (p. 11) →buy
- Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 154) →buy
