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 — an i-adjective, "close," branching into the adverb 近く and the noun 近所. It cradles not only distance but time — 近い将来, the near future. The verb 近づく is 近 + 付く, drawing near by pressing the body to closeness. The kanji 近 is 辶 (to walk) + 斤 (an ax) — a step as short as a single ax-handle. Kanji-reading kin: 近 reads Korean 'geun' (最近), Mandarin jìn.

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