Learn Chinese Characters

Meaning

near; close (to); approximately

Chinese: 距离近、时间近或接近。

Hear the Four Tones

The same syllable “jin” becomes a different word in each tone. 近 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.

Stroke Order

Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.

Common Words

  • 最近zuì jìnrecently; soon; nearest
  • 附近fù jìnnearby; neighboring; (in the) vicinity (of); neighborhood
  • 接近jiē jìnto approach; to get close to
  • 近期jìn qīnear in time; in the near future; very soon; recent
  • 将近jiāng jìnalmost; nearly; close to

Example Sentence

我家离学校很近。Wǒ jiā lí xué xiào hěn jìn.My home is very close to the school.

Ijiāhometo leave学校xué xiàoschoolhěnveryjìnnear

Go deeper

Where this character comes from

The walk radical 辶 (meaning) plus 斤 (jīn, sound): only a short way to walk — ‘near / close’.

A way to remember it

Only a short walk (辶) — near.

Easy to confuse with

  • yuǎn‘Far’: the opposite, also with the walk radical 辶.