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相近 (xiāng jìn) — close; similar

Definition

相近 describes things that are close or similar in some measurable way (views, levels, traits), without being identical. Pick 相似 for 'resembling in appearance/character'; 密切 is reserved for close relationships or contact.

adjective
closesimilar

Examples

  • 相近。
    Zhè liǎng piān wén zhāng de guān diǎn hěn xiāng jìn.
    The viewpoints of these two articles are very similar.
  • 相近，。
    Tā men de xìng gé xiāng jìn, suǒ yǐ chéng le hǎo péng you.
    Their personalities are close, so they became good friends.
  • 相近。
    Zhè liǎng zuò chéng shì de jīng jì fā zhǎn shuǐ píng xiāng jìn.
    The economic development levels of these two cities are close.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

相xiāngmutual
近jìnclose

相 means mutual and 近 means close; together they describe things being close to each other.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
斤
斤jīn近jìn
Same sound today

近 combines 辶, a walking radical, with 斤, which gives the sound. The walking part fits the idea of moving close to something.

Open 近 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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