离 (lí) does one thing: it measures the gap between two points — how near or far A is from B. Nothing moves. Where 从 traces the origin of a journey, 离 states a static separation and hands the sentence over to a distance word (近 "near," 远 "far") or an actual measurement. The frame is fixed: A 离 B + 近/远/distance. English uses "from" for both ideas ("come from here" vs "far from here"), which is exactly why learners reach for the wrong Chinese word — so keep this rule front of mind: if you could add a figure in metres or minutes, it's 离.
The A 离 B frame: near and far
State the thing you're measuring (A), then 离, then the reference point (B), then how far apart they are. The whole 离-phrase precedes the 近/远 predicate, keeping normal coverb order.
我家离学校很近。
wǒ jiā lí xuéxiào hěn jìn
My home is close to school. (informal) — A 我家, B 学校, gap 很近.
银行离这儿不远，走五分钟就到。
yínháng lí zhèr bù yuǎn, zǒu wǔ fēnzhōng jiù dào
The bank isn't far from here — five minutes on foot. (informal)
你家离公司远吗？
nǐ jiā lí gōngsī yuǎn ma?
Is your place far from the office? (informal)
Measuring the gap: 离…多远 and exact distances
To ask about the size of the gap, use 多远 ("how far"); to state it, drop in the actual distance or travel time after the 离-phrase.
你家离这儿多远？
nǐ jiā lí zhèr duō yuǎn?
How far is your place from here? (informal) — 多远 questions the gap.
超市离我家挺远的，开车要半个小时。
chāoshì lí wǒ jiā tǐng yuǎn de, kāi chē yào bàn ge xiǎoshí
The supermarket is pretty far from my home — half an hour by car. (informal)
学校离地铁站只有五分钟。
xuéxiào lí dìtiězhàn zhǐ yǒu wǔ fēnzhōng
The school is only five minutes from the subway station. (neutral)
我们离目的地还有二十公里。
wǒmen lí mùdìdì hái yǒu èrshí gōnglǐ
We're still twenty kilometres from our destination. (neutral)
Time gaps: 离 for countdowns
A stretch of time before an event is also a gap, so 离 counts down to it just as it measures physical distance. The frame stays 离 + event + 还有 + time.
离考试还有三天，别紧张。
lí kǎoshì hái yǒu sān tiān, bié jǐnzhāng
There are still three days until the exam — don't stress. (informal)
离过年没几天了。
lí guònián méi jǐ tiān le
It's not many days till New Year now. (informal)
现在离下班还早呢。
xiànzài lí xiàbān hái zǎo ne
It's still a while before we get off work. (informal)
离 vs 从: static separation vs motion source
Hold the two side by side and the split is clean: 从 takes a motion verb, 离 takes a distance. Same English "from," two different Chinese words. There's a second clue in the grammar itself: a 离-sentence is symmetric — 我家离学校很近 and 学校离我家很近 mean the same thing, because a gap has no direction. A 从-sentence is not: 我从学校走 (leave from school) and the reverse point opposite ways, because motion has a source and a destination. If flipping A and B changes the meaning, you're in 从 territory; if it doesn't, you want 离.
| You mean… | Coverb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a journey's origin (motion) | 从 | 从这儿走 — leave from here |
| a static gap (near/far) | 离 | 离这儿很近 — close to here |
| a countdown to an event | 离 | 离考试还有三天 — 3 days to the exam |
Common Mistakes
1. Using 从 for a static distance. Nearness is a gap, not a journey.
❌ 我家从学校很近。
Incorrect — a static distance takes 离, not 从.
✅ 我家离学校很近。
wǒ jiā lí xuéxiào hěn jìn
My home is close to school.
2. Following 离 with a motion verb. 离 can't lead into "leave/go"; that's 从's job.
❌ 我离这儿走。
Incorrect — leaving from a point is 从这儿走; 离 only measures the gap.
✅ 我从这儿走。
wǒ cóng zhèr zǒu
I'll leave from here.
3. Negating 远 with 没 instead of 不. 远 is an adjective, so its negative is 不远, not 没远.
❌ 离这儿没远。
Incorrect — adjectives are negated with 不: 离这儿不远.
✅ 离这儿不远。
lí zhèr bù yuǎn
It's not far from here.
4. Using 从 for a time countdown. "Three days until the exam" measures a gap in time.
❌ 从考试还有三天。
Incorrect — a countdown is a gap, so use 离: 离考试还有三天.
✅ 离考试还有三天。
lí kǎoshì hái yǒu sān tiān
There are still three days until the exam.
Key Takeaways
- 离 (lí) measures the gap between two points: A 离 B + 近/远/distance.
- The predicate is always a distance word, a measurement, or a countdown — never a motion verb.
- It works for time gaps too: 离考试还有三天, 离下班还早.
- Ask the size of a gap with 多远: 你家离这儿多远？
- Keep it apart from 从: 从这儿走 "leave from here" (motion) vs 离这儿很远 "far from here" (static).
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- 从 (cóng): From (Starting Point)HSK 2 — 从 (cóng) marks a starting point in space or time — 从北京来 'come from Beijing', 从早到晚 'from morning to night', 从明天起 'starting tomorrow'. The 从-phrase precedes the verb; don't confuse it with 离 (static distance).
- 多 + Adjective: 多大, 多高, 多远HSK 2 — To ask 'how + adjective', put 多 (duō) straight before a gradable adjective — 多大 (how old/big), 多高 (how tall), 多远 (how far), 多长 (how long) — with no 是 and no degree adverb. 有多 + adjective is the emphatic variant.
- 在 (zài): At / In / OnHSK 1 — 在 (zài) is the core location coverb — 在 + place + verb marks where an action happens: 我在家吃饭 'I eat at home', 他在图书馆学习 'he studies in the library'. The place phrase comes before the verb.
- The 比 Comparative: A 比 B + AdjectiveHSK 1 — The core Chinese comparison is A 比 B + Adjective — 我比你高 (I'm taller than you). 比 means 'compared to', the two things flank it, and the adjective stays plain with no word for '-er'.
- What Is a Coverb? Prepositions That Are Really VerbsHSK 1 — What English calls prepositions, Chinese handles with coverbs (介词) — words that began as verbs, take an object, and form a phrase BEFORE the main verb: 在家吃饭 'eat at home', 给你打电话 'call you', 用筷子吃 'eat with chopsticks'. The frame is Subject + Coverb + Object + Main Verb.