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Lesson 14 of 43

近 in Context

CONGRATULATIONS! 
The Character You Just Learned is Also a Common Word!

Usage 1 - "close (distance)": 

Sentence:

我的家和学校距离很近。   

English:

My house and school are really close. 

Top-Down Words:

家 jiā - home, one’s home
学校 xuéxiào - school
距离 jùlí - distance


*Sentence :

这么近,我要去。

English:

It’s so close, I’m going!


Usage 2 - "soon (time)": 

*Sentence:

晚饭近6点吃就好了。

English:

Eating dinner around six is fine.

Top-Down Words:

晚饭 wǎnfàn - dinner
就 jiù - (expressing condition “then”)



Need a Reminder?

The Six Steps to Learning Words

Understanding Chinese Words - Morphemes

3 Questions About Words

Great Job! Keep Going! 最近 in Context
Comments   3

Matt Shubert

For the usage of 近 where it means "soon (time)", is it more accurate to translate it as "plus/minus a small amount of time"?

For example, the sentences "I'll leave soon" vs. "I'll leave around noon", the first would use something like 马上 or 快要 while the second would use 近中午, is that accurate to say?

REPLY

Mandarin Blueprint

Yeah, sometimes the correct translation is "around" like "around 6 PM," but especially when it gets used in "最近" it has a sense of either "lately" (past-oriented) or "soon" (future-oriented), but on a slightly longer timescale than "马上" or "快要." You'll soon get the hang of it :).

REPLY

Matt Shubert

Cool, that makes sense, yeah after I reviewed the next lesson's sentences for 最近 it definitely helped solidify those meanings. Cheers guys.

REPLY