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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

有了微信，朋友之间真是天涯若比邻。
Yǒu le Wēixìn, péngyǒu zhījiān zhēn shì tiānyá ruò bǐ lín.
With WeChat, friends really are as close as neighbors, no matter the distance.
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 wàn lǐ, tiānyá ruò bǐ lín.
The two countries' cultural exchange is close — though separated by ten thousand miles, they feel like neighbors.

Tips

history
From Wang Bo's (王勃) 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