📖 Meaning
From the near to the distant. The idiom describes a process that progresses gradually outward, used to express how an influence or effect spreads increasingly far and wide, or how one's understanding and thinking deepen step by step from the immediate and concrete to the broader and more abstract. It emphasizes a natural, orderly progression rather than jumping straight to the end.
📜 Origin Story
This four-character expression has no documented origin in classical literature (出处: 无); it is a compound phrase built from common Classical Chinese function words and directional vocabulary rather than a quotation from a specific text, dynasty, or figure. The pattern follows the conventional structure of pairing a starting point (由, 'from') with an endpoint (及, 'reach to'), similar to well-known expressions such as 由浅入深. It has entered general use as a standard idiom describing gradual, outward-reaching progress.
💡 Example Usage
学习应当由近及远、由浅入深，切忌好高骛远。
In learning, one should proceed from the near to the far and from the shallow to the deep, and must not aim too high and overlook what is at hand.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 由近及远
- Pinyin: yóu jìn jí yuǎn
- Literal Translation: from, near, to, far
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4