远离
yuǎnlí · HSK 6
be far away
🏃➡️ yuǎn = far + lí = leave — literally far-leave, to distance yourself
Break it down: 远 means far/distant, 离 means to leave or separate. Together they form a verb meaning to stay far away from something, to keep your distance. The tone pair yuǎn-lí drops then rises like stepping back.
远 — 辶 (walk) + 袁 (phonetic)
远 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 辶 radical (a walking/movement element) carries the meaning of going or distance, while 袁 (yuán) provides the sound. The traditional form 遠 shows this structure clearly; together they convey 'far' — a place reached by long travel.
离 — top 亠 + 凶 + 禸 (animal track)
Originally depicted a long-tailed bird caught in a net, from which the early sense 'oriole' arose. The character was later borrowed phonetically for the unrelated verb meaning 'to leave' or 'be apart from,' which became its dominant modern usage. The original bird sense faded out of everyday use.