TongTong
Sign in

距离 (jù lí) — (noun) distance; (verb) to be apart from, to be at a distance from

Definition

距离 (jùlí) is a noun for the measurable gap between two things in space or time. As a verb, it means 'to be (a certain distance) from,' often used in the pattern A距离B + measurement (e.g. 超市距离学校两百米).

noun
distance
verb
to be apart fromto be at a distance from
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 距离。
    Zhè liǎng gè fáng zi zhī jiān de jù lí hěn jìn.
    The distance between these two houses is very short.
  • 距离。
    Chāo shì jù lí xué xiào zhǐ yǒu liǎng bǎi mǐ.
    The supermarket is only two hundred meters away from the school.
  • 距离？
    Zhè liǎng gè dì fāng zhī jiān de jù lí shì duō shǎo?
    What is the distance between these two places?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

距jùdistance
离líapart

距 points to distance and 离 points to being apart, so together they mean distance or separation.

Characters in this word

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
足足zúfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
巨
巨jù距jù
Same sound today

距 puts 足, meaning foot, beside 巨, which gives its sound.

Open 距 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 離; 离 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
离
离lí離lí
Same sound today

The traditional form 離 pairs 隹, a bird, with the sound part 离; the simplified 离 is a shorthand. This form first wrote a black-naped oriole, and the sound was borrowed for 'leave'.

Open 离 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 42000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 4 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.