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远离 (yuǎn lí) — to be far away from (physically); to keep away from, to stay away from (as a health or safety measure)

Definition

Used when actively putting or keeping distance from something — often for safety or health (远离烟酒, 远离危险), unlike 距离 which simply names the gap between two things.

verb
to be far away from (physically)to keep away fromto stay away from (as a health or safety measure)

Examples

  • 远离，。
    Wǒ hěn zǎo jiù yuǎn lí jiā xiāng, yí gè rén zài wài dì shēng huó.
    I left my hometown very early and lived alone in a different place.
  • ，远离。
    Wèi le jiàn kāng, nǐ yīng gāi yuǎn lí yān jiǔ.
    For your health, you should stay away from cigarettes and alcohol.
  • ，远离。
    Shì gù xiàn chǎng hěn wēi xiǎn, qǐng yuǎn lí nà lǐ.
    The accident scene is very dangerous; please stay away from there.

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.

远yuǎnfar
离líseparate

The sense of far combines with separation to mean keep far apart.

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
辶Written in full as辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
元
元yuán远yuǎn
Same sound today

远 combines 辶, meaning walk, with 元, used for its sound.

Open 远 →

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
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