隣

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 隣の人は静かです。▶ —
   The person next to me is quiet.
2. 隣の家は犬を飼っています。▶ —
   My neighbor keeps a dog.

Collocations

Mnemonic

隣 tonari — "right beside," yet beside only between things of the same kind. House and house, person and person, seat and seat — 隣 presupposes sameness in advance. When the kinds differ, "beside" becomes 横, pointing at a looser adjacency. Where Korean's "yeop" cradles both at once, Japanese parts them apart. 隣人 and 近隣 — that one character also bears the neighbor-bonds of society.

Quick check

1. "The café next to the post office" — most natural Japanese?

   • 郵便局の隣のカフェ (隣 — both are buildings, ideal)
   • 郵便局の横のカフェ (横 — vaguer position, also OK)
   • 郵便局のそばのカフェ (そば — "near", less precise)
   • All equivalent