Meaning of 邻居
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- neighbor
How to use 邻居
邻居 is the everyday word for a neighbor, and it can mean one person or the people living nearby. It often appears with 隔壁 (gébì, next door) or 楼上 (lóushàng, upstairs). Example: 我的邻居很友好。(Wǒ de línjū hěn yǒuhǎo.) My neighbor is very friendly.
邻 (lín) means near or next to, and 居 (jū) means to live, as in 居住 (jūzhù). Put them together and a 邻居 is the person who lives next to you.
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side of 邻 as 今 or forget that its ear radical 阝 sits on the right, not the left. Also keep the tones straight: lín is second tone and jū is first tone, so do not say jǔ or jù.
邻居 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
邻 lín · neighbor · 7 strokes
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居 jū · to live · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 邻居.
| 居民 | jūmín | resident; inhabitant |
| 居住 | jūzhù | to reside; to dwell |
| 居然 | jūrán | unexpectedly; to one's surprise |
| 定居 | dìngjū | to settle (in some city, country etc); to take up residence |
| 邻国 | línguó | neighboring country |
| 居高临下 | jūgāo-línxià | lit. to be in a high location, overlooking the scene below (idiom); fig. to occupy a comma |
| 居民楼 | jūmínlóu | apartment building; residential tower |
| 同居 | tóngjū | to live together; to cohabit |
| 分居 | fēnjū | to separate (married couple); to live apart (of husband and wife, family members) |
| 起居室 | qǐjūshì | living room; sitting room |
| 隐居 | yǐnjū | to live in seclusion |
| 独居 | dújū | to live alone; to live a solitary existence |
Questions about 邻居
What does 邻居 mean?
邻居 (línjū) means "neighbor" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 邻居?
邻居 is made of 2 characters: 邻 (7 strokes), 居 (8 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 邻居 an HSK word?
Yes. 邻居 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 邻居 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 邻居 is written 鄰居.
How do I say next-door neighbor in Chinese?
Say 隔壁邻居 (gébì línjū). You can also just say 隔壁 (gébì) in casual speech, as in 隔壁的人 (gébì de rén), the people next door.
Can 邻 be used for countries or other things that are next to each other?
Yes. 邻 adds the idea of being adjacent, so 邻国 (línguó) means a neighboring country. For people who live near you, though, use 邻居.