近

Tap the pinyin to hear it

near; close to; approximately

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HSK 3.0: Level 2
Old HSK: Level 2
Strokes: 7
Radical: 辵 +4
Structure: Lower-left enclosure 左下包
Traditional: 近
Common rank: #662
Unicode: U+8FD1

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

How 近 is formed

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

辶 meaning “walk” + 斤 sound ( jīn )

Components 辶斤

How to remember it

near · Heisig RSH #927

tomahawk + road

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Words with 近

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
近地天体	jìn dì tiān tǐ	near-Earth object (NEO)
不近人情	bù jìn rén qíng	(idiom) not amenable to reason; unreasonable
近地点	jìn dì diǎn	apsis; perigee
近场通信	jìn chǎng tōng xìn	(computing) near-field communication (NFC)
近日点	jìn rì diǎn	perihelion, the nearest point of a planet in elliptic orbit to the sun; lower apsis
近打河	Jìn dǎ Hé	Kinta River in Perak, Malaysia
平易近人	píng yì jìn rén	amiable and approachable (idiom); easygoing; modest and unassuming; (of writing) plain and…
近年来	jìn nián lái	for the past few years
近在眼前	jìn zài yǎn qián	right under one's nose; right in front of one's eyes; close at hand; imminent
近义词	jìn yì cí	near-synonym
近人	jìn rén	contemporary; modern person; close friend; associate; intimate
近水楼台先得月	jìn shuǐ lóu tái xiān dé yuè	the pavilion closest to the water enjoys moonlight first (idiom); to benefit from intimacy…
远水不救近火	yuǎn shuǐ bù jiù jìn huǒ	see 遠水救不了近火\|远水救不了近火[yuan3 shui3 jiu4 bu5 liao3 jin4 huo3]
拉近	lā jìn	to pull sb close to oneself; (fig.) (typically followed by 距離\|距离[ju4 li2]) to bridge (the …
钱多事少离家近	qián duō shì shǎo lí jiā jìn	lots of money, less work, and close to home; ideal job
近海	jìn hǎi	coastal waters; offshore
远水救不了近火	yuǎn shuǐ jiù bu liǎo jìn huǒ	water in a distant place is of little use in putting out a fire right here; (fig.) a slow …
近视眼	jìn shì yǎn	nearsightedness; myopia
假性近视	jiǎ xìng jìn shì	pseudomyopia
近道	jìn dào	shortcut; a quicker method

Sound family

Characters sharing the sound component 斤 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
斤 sound part	jīn	a catty (about 500 grams); an axe; keen, shrewd
欣	xīn	delighted, happy, joyous
芹	qín	celery
祈	qí	to pray, to entreat, to beseech
沂	yí	a river in southeast Shandong
忻	xīn	pleasant, joyful, delightful
蕲	qí	to pray, to implore; herb; Artemesia
圻	qí	border, boundary
靳	jìn	a strap on a horse's breast
昕	xīn	day, dawn, early morning
颀	qí	tall and slim; slender