遠く（とおく、tooku）
- far

The Japanese word 遠く (とおく) primarily means "far away," "distant," or "a long way off." It describes a location or distance that is not close. It can refer to physical distance or, metaphorically, to time or abstract concepts. It often suggests a sense of separation or remoteness.

⚫︎家は学校から遠くにあります。 Translation: My house is far away from school. ⚫︎遠くの山が見えます。 Translation: I can see the mountains in the distance.

⚫︎遠く is used to describe the location of an object, place, or person that is not close by. ⚫︎It can also be used figuratively to express a long time ago or a distant goal. ⚫︎It can modify verbs or function as an adverb. ⚫︎When used as an adjective, it takes the form 遠くの (distant/far) + noun.

⚫︎The word is typically written with the kanji 遠 and the hiragana く to form 遠く. ⚫︎The hiragana reading is とおく. ⚫︎There are no variations in okurigana.

⚫︎離れた (はなれた) - distant, remote (adjective) ⚫︎彼方 (かなた) - the other side, the distance ⚫︎遠方 (えんぽう) - distant place

⚫︎近く (ちかく) - nearby, close ⚫︎近い (ちかい) - near, close (adjective)

遠くに住んでいる友達に電話をかけました。 ・Translation: I called a friend who lives far away. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 遠く to describe the location of the friend's residence, indicating a significant distance.

子供の頃、遠くの未来を夢見ていました。 ・Translation: As a child, I dreamed of a distant future. ・Explanation: Here, 遠く is used metaphorically to refer to a time in the future, emphasizing the remoteness of the dream from the present.

The kanji 遠 (とお) means "far," "distant," or "remote." The く is a grammatical particle that turns the adjective into an adverb, indicating how far something is.