43

Expressing location
and distance
43.1

Location

43.1.1

Words that indicate location and compass direction

43.1.1.1 Location words

Mandarin location words consist of a base form and a location suffix. Base forms never
occur alone. Some base forms occur with several different suffixes with no change in
meaning. Here are the Mandarin location words and their English equivalents.

291

Base form

Mandarin location words

/

lm


wi


shng


xi


qin

/

hu


zun


yu

/

du


png


zhsng

/

lmtou

/

witou

/

shngtou

/

xitou

/

qintou

/

hutou

/

zhsngjipn

/

lmmin


wimian


shngmian


ximian


qinmian

/

humian


zunmin


yumin

/

dumin

/

dumin

English

/

lmbipn

/

wibian

/

shngbian

/

xibian

/

qinbian

/

hubian

/

zunbian

/

yubian

in
out
over
under
in front of
behind
left
right
across from

/

pngbipn

next to
between

43.1

EXPRESSING LOCATION AND DISTANCE

NOTES

1
2
3

In traditional characters, the character
lm is also written as
.

The choice of suffix is determined by the region of China and the personal preference of the speaker.
Mandarin has a second word for in,
ni.
ni does not occur with suffixes and has very
restricted in usage. It is used in fixed expressions such as:

/

guni
nib
niren

domestic (vs.
/
guwi foreign)

internal
my wife

43.1.1.2 Compass direction

The words for north, east, south, and west are also formed with a base form and a
suffix. The suffix can be
min or
/
bipn.
The combination compass direction words (northeast, southwest, etc.) usually occur
without a suffix. If a suffix occurs, it is
min or
/
bipn.

43.1.2

Base form

Mandarin compass direction words

/

dsng


nn


xr


bli

/

dsngmin


nnmin


xrmin


blimin

(
)/
(
)
dsngnn (min)

(
)/
(
)
dsngbli (min)

(
)
xrnn (min)

(
)
xrbli (min)

/

dsngbian

/

nnbian

/

xr bian

/

blibian

(
)/
(
)
dsngnn (bian)

(
)/
(
)
dsngbli (bian)

(
)/
(
)
xrnn (bian)

(
)/
(
)
xrbli (bian)

English

east
south
west
north
southeast
northeast
southwest
northwest

Spatial orientation with respect to a reference point

43.1.2.1 Indicating location with respect to a reference using location words

To indicate that something is inside, outside, over, under, etc. a reference point,
use the following structure:
reference point
de location word
In the following phrases, the reference point is the house. Note that
de may be
omitted.

(
)
/
(
)

fngzi (de) lmtou
inside the house

(
)
/
(
)

fngzi (de) witou
outside the house

292

43.1

Location

(
)
/
(
)

fngzi (de) shngtou
on the house/over the house

(
)
/
(
)

fngzi (de) xitou
below the house/under the house

(
)
/
(
)

fngzi (de) qintou
in front of the house

(
)
/
(
)

fngzi (de) hutou
behind the house

(
)
/
(
)

fngzi (de) zunbian
to the left of the house

(
)
/
(
)

fngzi (de) yubian
to the right of the house

(
)
/
(
)

fngzi (de) dumin
across from the house

(
)
/
(
)

fngzi (de) zhsngjipn
between the houses

!"/
!"
fngzi (de) pngbipn
next to the house
The location base forms
/
lm inside,
wi outside,
shng above, and

xi below can directly follow the reference point. When they occur this way,
de
does not occur.
reference point + location base form

(
)
/
(
)

or

/

fngzi lm
inside the house

or

fngzi (de) lmtou

inside the house

(
)
/
(
)

fngzi (de) witou
outside the house

(
)
/
(
)

fngzi (de) shngtou
on top of the house

or

(
)
/
(
)

or

fngzi (de) xitou

below the house

293

fngzi wi
outside the house

fngzi shng
on top of the house

fngzi xi
below the house

43.1

EXPRESSING LOCATION AND DISTANCE

43.1.2.2 Indicating location with compass direction words

To indicate that something is east of, west of, north of, or south of a reference
point, use the following structure. Keep in mind that compass direction words can be
used with the
min or
/
bipn suffix.
reference point
de compass direction word

!"

fngzi de blimin
north of the house

!"
fngzi de xrmin
west of the house

!"
!"

fngzi de dsngmin
east of the house

!"

fngzi de nnmin
south of the house

43.1.3

Describing the location of an object

To describe the location of an object with respect to a reference point, say:
object
zi reference point
de location word
In these examples, the object is the cat, and the reference point is the house.

!(
)


!(
)

Mpo zi fngzi (de) lmtou.
The cat is inside the house.

!(
)


!(
)

Mpo zi fngzi (de) witou.
The cat is outside the house.

!(
)


!(
)

Mpo zi fngzi (de) shngtou.
The cat is on the house/over the house.

!(
)


!(
)

Mpo zi fngzi (de) xitou.
The cat is below the house/under the house.

!(
)


!(
)

Mpo zi fngzi (de) qintou.
The cat is in front of the house.

294

Indicating that an object exists or does not exist at a location

43.2

!(
)


!(
)

Mpo zi fngzi (de) hutou.
The cat is behind the house.

!(
)


!(
)

Mpo zi fngzi (de) zunbian.
The cat is to the left of the house.

!(
)


!(
)

Mpo zi fngzi (de) yubian.
The cat is to the right of the house.

!(
)


!(
)

Mpo zi fngzi (de) dumin.
The cat is across from the house.

!(
)


!(
)

Mpo zi fngzi (de) zhsngjipn.
The cat is between the houses.

!(
)


!(
)

Mpo zi fngzi (de) pngbipn.
The cat is next to the house.
Use the same pattern to indicate location in terms of compass direction:
object
zi reference point
de compass location word

!(
)
(
)


!E
F
E
F

Fngzi zi l (de) xrbli (bipn).
The house is to the northwest of the road.

!(
)
(
)


!(
)
(
)

L zi fngzi (de) dsngnn (bipn).
The road is to the southeast of the house.

43.2

Indicating that an object exists or does not exist at

a location
To indicate that an object exists at a location, use the following pattern. Note that

zi is optional at the beginning of the sentence.
(
zi) location
ynu object

At location there is object (there are objects).

295

EXPRESSING LOCATION AND DISTANCE

43.2

(
)
!"#
(
)
!"#
(Zi) zhuszi shng ynu sht.
On the table there is a book (there are books).
(
)

!"#$
E
F
!"#$

(Zi) fngzi hubian ynu mpo.

Behind the house there is a cat (there are cats).

ynu object
zi location

There is object (there are objects) at location.

!"#$%&

!"#$%&
Ynu likng bln sht zi zhuszi shng.
There are two books on the table.

!"#$%&'(

!"#$%&'(
Ynu yrzhr mpo zi fngzi de hubian.
There is a cat behind the house.
To indicate that an object does not exist at a location, use the following structure:
(
zi) location
mi ynu object
At location there is no object.
(
)
!"#$
(
)
!"#$
(Zi) fngzi lm mi ynu rn.
There are no people in the house.
(lit. In the house there are no people.)
(
)
!"# $
(
)
!"# $
(Zi) wtzi lm mi ynu zhuszi.
There arent any tables in the room.
(lit. In the room there arent any tables.)
or

mi ynu object
zi location

!"#$%

!"#$%
Mi ynu rn zi fngzi lm.
There are no people in the house.

!"#!$%

!"#!$%
Mi ynu zhuszi zi wtzi lm.
There arent any tables in the room.

296

Using location as a description

43.3

43.3

Using location as a description

Location phrases may also be used to describe a noun. When used as a description,
the location phrase precedes the noun, as follows:
Location phrase
de noun
the noun at this location [or] the noun in this direction
To help you to understand this structure, the location phrase in each of the following
examples is presented in square brackets. Notice that the words that, who, and
which that occur in the description in English are not translated into Mandarin. In
Mandarin, the noun can be understood as singular or plural.
[
]=

[
]=

[shpfp shng] de mpo
the cat [(that is) on the sofa]
[
]=

[
]=

[fngzi lm] de rn
the person [(who is) in the house]
[
]=

[
]=

[blibipn] de h
the lake [(that is) in the north]
[
]=

[
]=

[zunbian] de rn
the person [(who is) on the left]
The location phrase may itself include a noun with a description:
[
(
)
]=

[
(
)
]=

[fngzi de hutou] de rn
the person [(who is) behind the house]
[
(
)
]=

[
(
)
]=

[tshtgukn (de) dumin] de xuxio
the school [(that is) across from the library]

9.2, 26.3
Compare the use of the location phrase as a description of a noun, with the use of
the location phrase to indicate the location of a noun. Keep in mind that location
phrases follow the noun and description phrases precede the noun.

297

43.4

EXPRESSING LOCATION AND DISTANCE

43.4

Location: noun
de location phrase

Description: location phrase
de noun

!"

!"

fngzi de hutou
behind the house

hutou de fngzi
the house that is behind

!"

fngzi de blimin
to the north of the house

blimin de fngzi
the house to the north

!"

!"

hizi de yubian
to the right of the child

yubian de hizi
the child on the right

!

!

qintou de rn
the person who is in front

rn de qintou
in front of the person

!

!

sht de shngtou
on top of the book

shngtou de sht
the book on top

!"
!"

!"

!"
!"

!
!

!
!

Talking about distance

In Mandarin, distance is always expressed with the word
/
l to be separated
from. All expressions of distance use the following structure. The noun phrases refer
to objects or locations.
noun phrase1
/
l noun phrase2 close/far/x distance
noun phrase1 is close/far/x distance from noun phrase2

43.4.1

Talking about near and far

To say that one object or place is (very) far from another object or place, say:
noun phrase1
/
noun phrase2 (
)
/

noun phrase1 l
noun phrase2 (hln) yukn

!"#



!"#$%&
Wn jip l tshtgukn hln yukn.
My house is very far from the library.
To say that one object or place is (very) close to another object or place, say:
noun phrase1
/
noun phrase2 (
)

noun phrase1 l
noun phrase2 (hln) jn

!"(
)


!"(
)

Gsngyun l xuxio (hln) jn.
The park is very close to the school.

298

43.4

Talking about distance

To say that an object or place is close to your present location, say:

noun phrase1
/

/
(
)

noun phrase1 l
zhr
(hln) jn
or
noun phrase1
/


/
(
)

noun phrase1 l
zhlm
(hln) jn

!"(
)


!"(
)

Gsngyun l zhr (hln) jn.
The park is (very) close to here.

!"(
)


!"(
)

Xuxio l zhlm (hln) jn.
The school is (very) close to here.
To say that an object or place is far from your present location, say:
noun phrase1
/

/
(
)
/

noun phrase1 l
zhr
(hln) yukn
or
noun phrase1
/


/
(
)
/

noun phrase1 l
zhlm
(hln) yukn

!"(
)


!"(
)

Gsngyun l zhr (hln) yukn.
The park is (very) far from here.

!"(
)


!"(
)

Xuxio l zhlm (hln) yukn.
The school is (very) far from here.
Be careful to use
/
l to be separated from, and not the prepositions
do
from or
/
cng from when talking about distance.
Say this

Not this

!"#$%

!"#$%

G
!"#$%

!"#$%

Wn jip l tshtgukn jn.

My house is close to the library.

Wn jip do tshtgukn jn.

G
!"#$%

!"#$%
Wn jip jn do tshtgukn.

43.4.2

Talking about specific distance

To indicate the specific distance between two objects or places, say:
noun phrase1
/
noun phrase2 (
) distance
noun phrase1 l
noun phrase2 (ynu) distance

299

EXPRESSING LOCATION AND DISTANCE

43.5

!"#(
)
(
)


!"#(
)
(
)

Gsngyun l tshtgukn (ynu) spn lm (l).
The park is three miles from the library.
Commonly used distance words include:

lm
gsnglm
mm
Yrng lm
lm

Chinese mile (.5 kilometers)

kilometer
meter
English mile
English mile

43.5

Asking about distance

43.5.1

Asking about near and far

To ask if an object or place is far from another object or place, say:
noun phrase1
noun phrase1
noun phrase1

l

noun phrase2
noun phrase2
noun phrase2

yukn ma?

or
noun phrase1
noun phrase1
noun phrase1

l

noun phrase2
noun phrase2
noun phrase2

yukn b yukn?

!"#$%&

!"#$%&
Nm jip l tshtgukn yukn ma?
Is your house far from the library?
or

!"#$%$&

!"#$%$&
Nm jip l tshtgukn yukn b yukn?
Is your house far from the library?
To ask if an object or place is near to another object or place, say:
noun phrase1
noun phrase1
noun phrase1

l

noun phrase2
noun phrase2
noun phrase2

jn ma?

!"#$%&

!"#$%&
Nm jip l tshtgukn jn ma?
Is your house close to the library?
NOTE

As in English, the question is it far? is more neutral than the question is it close? When the speaker
asks is it far? he or she typically does not necessarily expect the answer to be far. However, when the
question is is it close? the speaker often expects the answer to be close.

300

Asking about distance

To ask if an object or place is far from your present location, say:

!"#$%&

!"#$%&
Tshtgukn l zhr yukn ma?
Is the library far from here?
or

!"#$%&

!"#$%&
Tshtgukn l zhlm yukn ma?
Is the library far from here?

43.5.2

24.1

Asking about specific distances

To ask how far one object or place is from another object or place, say:

!"#$(
)


!"#$(
)

Nm jip l tshtgukn dus(me) yukn?
How far is your house from the library?
or

!"#$%&'

!"#$%&'
Nm jip l tshtgukn ynu dus yukn?
How far is your house from the library?

24.6

301

43.5