离 (lí) is the word Chinese uses to talk about the gap between two points — how near or far one thing is from another, in space or in time. Its everyday face is the coverb in A 离 B + 远/近: 我家离学校很近 "my home is close to the school." Its other face is the verb "to leave / be parted from," alive today mainly in 离开 (líkāi) "leave" and 离婚 (líhūn) "divorce." The confusion to head off early is with 从 (cóng): 从 marks the starting point of a movement, while 离 measures the static distance between two fixed points. 从北京出发 is where you set out; 离北京很远 is how far away you are.
Sense 1: be apart from — spatial distance (coverb)
The core pattern is A 离 B + 远/近 (or a distance). 离 introduces the reference point B, and the near/far judgement comes after it. The whole 离-phrase sits before the predicate, as coverbs do.
我家离公司很近，走路十分钟就到。
wǒ jiā lí gōngsī hěn jìn, zǒu lù shí fēnzhōng jiù dào
My home is close to the office — ten minutes on foot.
请问，银行离这儿远吗？
qǐngwèn, yínháng lí zhèr yuǎn ma
Excuse me, is the bank far from here?
超市离我家不远，就在拐角。
chāoshì lí wǒ jiā bù yuǎn, jiù zài guǎijiǎo
The supermarket isn't far from my home — it's right around the corner.
You can also give an exact gap after B: 我家离地铁站只有五百米 "my home is only 500 metres from the subway station."
Sense 2: be apart from — distance in time
The same frame measures time remaining: 离 [event] 还有 / 只剩 + duration — literally "from now to the event there is still…". English says "there are X days until…".
离春节还有两个星期。
lí Chūnjié hái yǒu liǎng ge xīngqī
There are still two weeks until Spring Festival.
离考试只剩三天了，别玩手机了。
lí kǎoshì zhǐ shèng sān tiān le, bié wán shǒujī le
Only three days left until the exam — put the phone away.
现在离上课还有十分钟。
xiànzài lí shàng kè hái yǒu shí fēnzhōng
There are still ten minutes until class.
Sense 3: leave / part from (verb)
As a verb, 离 means "leave / be separated from," but modern Mandarin rarely uses it bare — it lives inside compounds. 离开 (líkāi) "leave (a place/person)" is the everyday word; 离婚 (líhūn) "divorce" and 离家 "leave home" are others. 离开 takes the thing left as its object.
他二十岁就离开了家乡。
tā èrshí suì jiù líkāi le jiāxiāng
He left his hometown at twenty.
请你离我远一点儿。
qǐng nǐ lí wǒ yuǎn yìdiǎnr
Please keep a bit of distance from me.
听说他们去年离婚了。
tīngshuō tāmen qùnián líhūn le
I heard they got divorced last year.
Key collocations
| Phrase | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 离……近 | lí… jìn | close to… |
| 离……远 | lí… yuǎn | far from… |
| 离这儿 | lí zhèr | from here |
| 离……还有 | lí… hái yǒu | there is still (time) until… |
| 离开 | líkāi | leave, depart from |
| 离婚 | líhūn | divorce |
| 离家 | lí jiā | (be) away from home; leave home |
| 离不开 | lí bu kāi | can't do without; can't get away from |
| 距离 | jùlí | distance (noun) |
Grammar notes
离 is a coverb (a preposition-like verb): it heads a phrase that sits before the main predicate, exactly like 在, 从, and 给 — see what is a coverb. The distance frame has its own dedicated page, 离 for distance, which drills the A 离 B 远/近 order. The single rule to burn in: the near/far word or the number is a comment on the whole gap, so it comes after B — 我家离学校很近, never 离很近学校.
The contrast with 从 is the heart of using 离 well. 从 is dynamic — it names where a motion begins (从家里出来 "come out from home") — whereas 离 is static, naming the distance between two points that aren't moving. If nothing is travelling, you want 离. And don't confuse the gap-verb 离 with 到 (dào) "to / arrive at," which marks an endpoint reached. For "leave" in the sense of "set off / go," everyday speech more often uses 走 — compare 走 (walk / leave): 我先走了 "I'll head off now" is far more common than 我先离开了.
Common Mistakes
1. Using 从 for a static distance. Distance between fixed points is 离, not 从.
❌ 我家从学校很近。
Incorrect — 从 is for a starting point of motion. Static distance uses 离.
✅ 我家离学校很近。
wǒ jiā lí xuéxiào hěn jìn
My home is close to the school.
2. Putting 远/近 or the number before B. The near/far judgement comes after the reference point.
❌ 我家离很近学校。
Incorrect word order — the near/far word follows B: 离学校很近.
✅ 我家离学校很近。
wǒ jiā lí xuéxiào hěn jìn
My home is close to the school.
3. Using 离 for a starting point of motion. "Come from Beijing" is a movement — that's 从.
❌ 我离北京来。
Incorrect — coming from a place is motion; use 从: 从北京来.
✅ 我从北京来。
wǒ cóng Běijīng lái
I come from Beijing.
4. Using bare 离 as the verb 'leave'. Modern Mandarin needs 离开 (with an object) or, colloquially, 走.
❌ 我一般八点离公司。
Incorrect — bare 离 isn't used as 'leave'. Say 离开公司 or 从公司走.
✅ 我一般八点离开公司。
wǒ yìbān bā diǎn líkāi gōngsī
I usually leave the office at eight.
Key Takeaways
- 离 measures the gap between two points — spatial (离这儿很近) or temporal (离考试还有三天).
- The frame is A 离 B + 远/近/distance; the near/far word or number always comes after B.
- 离 = static distance; 从 = starting point of motion. If nothing is moving, use 离.
- As a verb, "leave" is 离开 (with the thing left as object) or 离婚 "divorce"; bare 离 isn't used alone.
- For "head off / set out," everyday speech prefers 走 over 离开.
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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).
- 走 (zǒu) — walk / leave / goHSK 1 — 走 (zǒu) is both 'walk / go on foot' (走路, 往前走) and, just as commonly, 'leave / set off' (我走了, 该走了) — it's an intransitive verb, so a destination still takes 去, not 走.