近い

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 駅は近いです。▶ —
   The station is close.
2. 私の家から学校までは近いです。▶ —
   It's close from my house to school.

Collocations

Mnemonic

近い chikai — i-adjective for spatial closeness. Adverbial 近く (chikaku, nearby), nominal 近所 (kinjo, neighborhood). Extends to time and relationship: 近い将来 (the near future), 親しい (shitashii, intimate — different kanji but overlapping sphere). Verb 近づく (chikazuku, approach) = 近 + 付く (attach). Onyomi きん (kin): 近所, 近代 (kindai, modern era), 最近 (saikin, recently). Kanji 近 = 辶 (walk slowly) + 斤 (ax, also phonetic) = "a short walk away" → close. Ax-handle length was once a unit of measure.

Quick check

1. Conceptual link: why does 近 cover both space ("near") and time ("near future")?

   • Space → time metaphor: short distance maps to short interval
   • Phonetic coincidence
   • 近 originally meant only time
   • Unrelated