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天涯若比邻

天涯若比鄰
tiānyáruòbǐlín
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 though at the ends of the earth, as close as neighbors
  2. 2 close in spirit although far away

Examples

HSK 7-9
有了微信，朋友之间真是天涯若比邻。
Yǒu le Wēixìn, péngyou zhījiān zhēnshì tiānyáruòbǐlín.
With WeChat, friends really are as close as neighbors, no matter the distance.
HSK 7-9
两国文化交流密切，虽相隔万里，天涯若比邻。
Liǎng guó wénhuà jiāoliú mìqiè, suī xiānggé wànlǐ, tiānyáruòbǐlín.
The two countries' cultural exchange is close - though separated by ten thousand miles, they feel like neighbors.

Tips

history
From 王勃's early-Tang poem 《送杜少府之任蜀州》 (Seeing Off Prefect Du on His Way to Shu). The couplet reads: 海内存知己，天涯若比邻 - 'Within the four seas, a true friend exists; at the ends of the earth, we are as next-door neighbors.' Written as a farewell to a friend taking a post in faraway Sichuan, remarkably upbeat for a Tang farewell poem.
usage
One of the most-quoted farewell / friendship lines in Chinese. Standard in emigration speeches, diplomatic toasts, alumni events, and telecoms / transport ad copy about 'shrinking the world'.

Stroke Order

天 tiān
涯 yá
若 ruò
比 bǐ
邻 lín