隣（となり、tonari）
- next to

The Japanese word 隣 (となり, *tonari*) primarily means "next to," "beside," or "neighbor." It refers to something or someone in close proximity, either physically or in terms of location. It can also imply a nearby place or a neighbor in a more general sense. The concept centers around nearness and adjacency.

⚫︎隣の家 Translation: The house next door. ⚫︎私は隣に座った Translation: I sat next to him/her. ⚫︎彼は私の隣人です Translation: He/She is my neighbor.

⚫︎隣 is commonly used to describe the location of objects, people, or places in relation to a reference point. ⚫︎It's frequently used in everyday conversation to indicate spatial relationships. ⚫︎It can also be used to refer to a person who lives in the neighboring house or apartment. ⚫︎Use 隣 to point out what is 隣, such as "next to the restaurant".

⚫︎The standard way to write 隣 is with the kanji 隣. ⚫︎The reading is となり in hiragana. ⚫︎There is no katakana version. ⚫︎Okurigana (the suffix hiragana) is used, and in the case of 隣, the suffix is not changeable.

⚫︎そば (*soba*): nearby, beside ⚫︎近く (*chikaku*): near, close ⚫︎隣接 (*rinsetsu*): adjacent (more formal)

⚫︎向かい (*mukai*): opposite ⚫︎遠い (*tooi*): far ⚫︎離れた (*hanareta*): distant, remote

私の部屋はレストランの隣です。 ・Translation: My room is next to the restaurant. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 隣 to describe the location of the speaker's room relative to the restaurant.

私は隣の公園で友達と会った。 ・Translation: I met my friend at the park nearby. ・Explanation: The sentence implies that a park exists which is 隣 a certain place, and the speaker meets with a friend in that park.

The etymology of 隣 (となり) is not explicitly well-documented, but the kanji itself combines elements related to "village" or "community" (阝, similar to "邑" which is a simplified form) and "direction" or "sides" (㕦, which is an ancient character). The meaning likely evolved from the idea of those living near the same area or in the same neighborhood.