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  <h1>Expressing distance with "<span class="pinyinst">lí</span>" "<span class="hanzist">离</span>"</h1>

  <p>Are we there yet? One of the ways to express distance is to use <span class="hanzi">离</span> (<span class="pinyin">lí</span>). 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.</p>

  <h2 id="using-离-lí-in-a-statement">Using <span class="hanzist">离</span> (<span class="pinyinst">lí</span>) in a Statement</h2>

  <h3 id="structure">Structure</h3>

  <p>Unless you're talking about a very specific distance, you'll normally want to pair <span class="hanzi">离</span> (<span class="pinyin">lí</span>) with the adjective <span class="hanzi">近</span> (<span class="pinyin">jìn</span>) for "close," or <span class="hanzi">远</span> (<span class="pinyin">yuǎn</span>) for "far."</p>

  <div class="deux">
    <p>Place 1 + <span class="hanzist">离</span> + Place 2 + Adv. + <span class="hanzist">近 / 远</span></p>
  </div>

  <p>So this pattern is normally used to simply express that one place is (<b>not</b>) <b>close</b> or (<b>not</b>) <b>far</b> 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.</p>

  <h3 id="examples">Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">我 家 <span class="fondjaune">离</span> 公司 <span class="fondvert">很 近</span>。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ jiā <span class="fondjaune">lí</span> gōngsī <span class="fondvert">hěn jìn</span> </span> <br/>My house is close to my office.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">美国 <span class="fondjaune">离</span> 中国 <span class="fondvert">很 远</span>。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Měiguó <span class="fondjaune">lí</span> Zhōngguó <span class="fondvert">hěn yuǎn</span> </span> <br/>The USA is far from China.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">这 个 酒店 <span class="fondjaune">离</span> 火车站 <span class="fondvert">很 近</span> </span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Zhège jiǔdiàn <span class="fondjaune">lí</span> huǒchēzhàn <span class="fondvert">hěn jìn</span> </span> <br/>This hotel is very close to the train station.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">那 个 酒吧 <span class="fondjaune">离</span> 这儿 <span class="fondvert">太 远 了</span> 我 不 想 去。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Nàge jiǔbā <span class="fondjaune">lí</span> zhèr <span class="fondvert">tài yuǎn le</span>, wǒ bù xiǎng qù.</span><br/> That bar is too far away from here. I don't want to go.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 不想 去 <span class="fondjaune">离</span> 家 <span class="fondvert">很 远 的 地方</span> 工作。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ bù xiǎng qù <span class="fondjaune">lí</span> jiā <span class="fondvert">hěn yuǎn de dìfang</span> gōngzuò.</span> <br/>I don't want to go work at a place very far away from home.</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="using-离-lí-in-a-question">Using <span class="hanzist">离</span> (<span class="pinyinst">lí</span>) in a Question</h2>

  <h3 id="structure-1">Structure</h3>

  <p>These two sentence patterns are extremely common in everyday conversations when discussing distances.</p>

  <div class="deux">
    <p>Place 1 + <span class="hanzist">离</span> + Place 2 (+ Adv.) + <span class="hanzist">近 / 远</span> + <span class="hanzist">吗</span>？</p>
  </div>

  <p></p>

  <div class="deux">
    <p>Place 1 + <span class="hanzist">离</span> + Place 2 (+ <span class="hanzist">有</span>) + <span class="hanzist">多远</span>？</p>
  </div>

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

  <h3 id="examples-1">Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">你家 <span class="fondjaune">离</span> <span class="fondvert">超市 远</span> 吗？</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Nǐ jiā <span class="fondjaune">lí</span> <span class="fondvert">chāoshì yuǎn</span> ma?</span> <br/>Is your house far away from the supermarket?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 的 大学 <span class="fondjaune">离</span> 你 老家 <span class="fondvert">很 远</span> 吗？</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Nǐ de dàxué <span class="fondjaune">lí</span> nǐ lǎojiā <span class="fondvert">hěn yuǎn</span> ma?</span> <br/>Is your college very far away from your hometown?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你们 公司 <span class="fondjaune">离</span> 地铁站 <span class="fondvert">近</span> 吗？</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Nǐmen gōngsī <span class="fondjaune">lí</span> dìtiězhàn <span class="fondvert">jìn</span> ma?</span> <br/>Is your company close to the metro station?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 家 <span class="fondjaune">离</span> 学校 <span class="fondvert">多远</span>？</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Nǐ jiā <span class="fondjaune">lí</span> xuéxiào <span class="fondvert">duō yuǎn</span> </span> <br/>How far is it from your home to school?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">这个 酒店 <span class="fondjaune">离</span> 机场 有 <span class="fondvert">多远</span>？</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Zhège jiǔdiàn <span class="fondjaune">lí</span> jīchǎng yǒu <span class="fondvert">duō yuǎn</span> </span> <br/>How far is it from this hotel to the airport?</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="expressing-stay-away-from-me-with-离-lí">Expressing "Stay Away from Me" with <span class="hanzist">离</span> (<span class="pinyinst">lí</span>)</h2>

  <p>One final example is a command, commonly heard in colloquial Chinese:</p>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">你 <span class="fondjaune">离</span> 我 <span class="fondvert">远</span> 点 儿 ！</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <span class="fondjaune">lí</span> wǒ <span class="fondvert">yuǎn</span> diǎnr!</span> <br/>Stay away from me.</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <p>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."</p>

  <h2 id="see-also">See Also</h2>

  <ul>
    <li><a href="&quot;From%E2%80%A6_to%E2%80%A6&quot;_with_&quot;cong%E2%80%A6_dao%E2%80%A6&quot;" title="wikilink">"From… to…" with "cong… dao…"</a></li>
  </ul>

  <h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2>

  <h3 id="books">Books</h3>

  <ul>
    <li>Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 112 - 113)</li>

    <li>Boya Chinese Elementary Starter 2 (<span class="hanzi">博雅汉语初经起步篇</span>) (p. 11)</li>

    <li>Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 154)</li>
  </ul>
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