قريب؟

You don't need complex grammar here. Just point toward a destination or name a place and say قريب؟. If you are asking about a feminine noun (like a city مدينة or a school مدرسة), you just add a 'ta' marbuta' sound at the end: قريبة؟. It is that easy. You can also use it to ask about people. If you ask if someone is قريب, you might be asking if they are physically close or if they are a relative.

Use it when you are in a taxi and the meter is running high. Use it when you are hiking with friends and your legs are giving out. It is perfect for checking if the pharmacy is within walking distance. You can also use it when texting a friend to see if they have arrived at the meeting spot. In a professional setting, you might use it to ask if a deadline is approaching.

Avoid using just the single word قريب؟ in very formal written reports. In those cases, use the full sentence هل هو قريب؟. Also, do not use it if you need an exact measurement. If you ask قريب؟, an Arab friend might say "yes" even if it is a twenty-minute walk. They aren't lying; they just have a different definition of "close" than you might! If you need meters or kilometers, ask for the specific distance instead.

In many Arabic-speaking cultures, hospitality and helpfulness are huge. If you ask a local if something is قريب, they often want to encourage you. This leads to the famous "Arab Five Minutes," where everything is قريب even if it is across town. The word also has a deep social meaning. الأقارب (the near ones) means your relatives. Being "near" isn't just about geography; it is about the warmth of connection and community.

You will often hear قريب من هون؟ which means "Near from here?". In Egyptian dialect, you might hear قريب من هنا؟ (Garib min hina?). If something is very close, people will say قريب كتير or قريب جداً. If you want to ask the opposite, use بعيد؟ (Ba'eed?), which means "Far?". Knowing these two opposites gives you total control over your surroundings.