近 (jìn) is a Chinese character meaning “near”. It is written from 辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 斤 (catty (unit of weight)), one enclosing the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “near; close”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
辶 + 斤
Enclosing structure
Structure from: IDS 拆分 ⿺辶斤，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–3 为「斤」（撇、撇、横、竖），笔画 4–6 为「辶」（点、横折折撇、平捺）
Memory aid
The road radical 辶 wraps around 斤, a catty of weight: the market that is only one catty's walk away is the near one.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 最近zuì jìnrecently; lately; nearest近 = jìn
- 附近fù jìnnearby; in the vicinity近 = jìn
- 邻近lín jìnnearby; adjacent to近 = jìnHSK 5
- 挨近āi jìnto get close to; to approach近 = jìn
Go deeper
All readings
near; close
near; close to; nearby; recent; approaching
距离短；离得不远。也指时间上离现在不久。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 最近zuì jìnrecently; lately; nearest近 = jìn
- 附近fù jìnnearby; in the vicinity近 = jìn
- 邻近lín jìnnearby; adjacent to近 = jìnHSK 5
- 挨近āi jìnto get close to; to approach近 = jìn
Sound component
斤 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 近 mean?
近 (jìn) means near; close to; nearby; recent; approaching.
How do you pronounce 近?
It is pronounced jìn.
What parts is 近 made of?
辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 斤 (catty (unit of weight)), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: IDS 拆分 ⿺辶斤，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–3 为「斤」（撇、撇、横、竖），笔画 4–6 为「辶」（点、横折折撇、平捺）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 近 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 近?
辶. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 近?
Common ones are 最近 and 附近. The reading of 近 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.