What does 遠 mean in Japanese?
遠 means far or distant. The kun’yomi とお-い (tooi) contains a long double-o vowel that beginners frequently shorten to ‘toi’ in romanization — catching this is important for both spelling and pronunciation.
遠 pairs naturally with 近 (chikai, near) as the near-far contrast pair, which you have just covered. Beyond the basic adjective, 遠足 (ensoku, school excursion) and 遠慮 (enryo, hesitation to impose on others) are two compounds that come up very early in Japanese study and daily life.
Reading
On’yomi: エン (en), オン (on)
Kun’yomi: とお-い (too-i), とお-く (too-ku)
Basic Information
| Kanji | 遠 |
|---|---|
| Meaning | far, distant |
| Stroke Count | 13 |
| JLPT Level | N4 |
How to Understand This Kanji
遠い describes distance in space or time: 学校が遠い (the school is far), 遠い昔 (the distant past). 遠く can be a noun (a distant place) or an adverb: 遠くから来た (came from far away). 遠慮 (enryo) is culturally significant: the tendency to decline offers or hold back out of consideration for others. 遠慮なく (without hesitation / please go ahead) is a phrase used at meals, when offering help, and when receiving gifts.
Common Words
- 遠い（とおい / tooi） — far, distant
- 遠く（とおく / tooku） — far away, a distant place
- 遠足（えんそく / ensoku） — school excursion, field trip
- 遠慮（えんりょ / enryo） — hesitation to impose; holding back
- 遠回り（とおまわり / toomawari） — detour, going the long way around
- 遠ざかる（とおざかる / toozakaru） — to go far away, to distance oneself
Example Sentences
-
駅から学校まで遠いですか？
えきからがっこうまでとおいですか？ / Eki kara gakkou made tooi desu ka?
Is it far from the station to the school?
-
遠慮なく食べてください。
えんりょなくたべてください。 / Enryo naku tabete kudasai.
Please go ahead and eat without hesitation.
-
来週、遠足で山に行きます。
らいしゅう、えんそくでやまにいきます。 / Raishuu, ensoku de yama ni ikimasu.
We are going to the mountains on a school trip next week.
When Learners Usually See This Kanji
The romaji spelling: 遠い (tooi) has a long vowel — とお, not と. The romanization is ‘tooi,’ never ‘toi.’ In hiragana, the long /oo/ sound in とお is written with お, not う — this is one of the rare cases where a long /oo/ sound is spelled おお in hiragana rather than おう. Learners studying kana spelling should memorise this exception.
遠慮 (enryo, holding back / hesitation to impose) is socially essential vocabulary. 遠慮なく食べてください (please go ahead and eat without hesitation) is used whenever food or gifts are offered. 遠慮がちな人 describes a reserved person. Understanding 遠慮 helps you read the social rhythm of hospitality in Japan, where initial declines are often polite rather than definitive.
遠足 (ensoku, school excursion) = 遠 (far) + 足 (foot/legs). The compound literally evokes going somewhere far on foot. Almost every learner encounters it in textbook dialogues about school life. It is also used colloquially for any casual group outing.
遠回り (toomawari, detour) = 遠 (far) + 回り (going around). Its natural opposite is 近道 (chikamichi, shortcut), which you covered in 184.
Summary
遠 means far or distant, with 遠い (tooi, far) and 遠く (tooku, far away) as core forms, and 遠足 (school excursion) and 遠慮 (hesitation to impose) as essential cultural vocabulary.