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The traditional form 遠 is a phono-semantic compound: 辶, indicating movement, gives the meaning, and 袁 gives the sound. Simplified to 远, it replaces 袁 with 元, a less complex phonetic that still hints at the pronunciation while reducing the stroke count. The core meaning is physical distance. This spatial sense later expanded to temporal distance, a long time ago or far into the future, and to abstract distance, such as distant relationships or profound conceptual differences.
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Example Sentences Hide
我的朋友住得很远。
我们学校离车站不远。
他打算去远方旅行。
这个故事发生在遥远的古代。
从长远的观点看，这是对的。
望远镜能让我们看到远方的星星。
对未来的影响深远，我们必须谨慎决定。
即使相隔遥远，他们的友谊也从未改变。
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