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."

<div class="jiegou">
Place 1 + 离 + Place 2 + Adv. + 近 / 远

</div>
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](word_order "wikilink") to a speaker of
English.

### 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>
-   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>
-   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>
-   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">
-   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>
-   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>
-   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>
-   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>
-   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>

</div>
Expressing "Stay Away from Me" with 离 (lí)
-------------------------------------------

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

<div class="liju">
-   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>

</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…" "wikilink")

Sources and further reading
---------------------------

### Books

-   [Basic Patterns of Chinese
    Grammar](Basic_Patterns_of_Chinese_Grammar "wikilink") (pp. 112 -
    113)
    [→buy](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)
-   [Boya Chinese Elementary Starter
    2 (博雅汉语初经起步篇)](Boya_Chinese_Elementary_Starter_2_(博雅汉语初经起步篇) "wikilink") (p.
    11)
    [→buy](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)
-   [Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second
    Edition](Chinese:_An_Essential_Grammar,_Second_Edition "wikilink") (pp.
    154)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415372615/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0415372615)