离【lí】

离 links two places and says how far apart they are. The place you're talking about goes first, then 离 and the reference point, then 近 or 远.

English puts "close to the school" after the adjective. In Chinese 近 or 远 comes last.

• × 我家很近离学校 → 我家离学校很近

离 or 从

从 marks where a movement starts. 离 measures a fixed distance; nothing is going anywhere.

• × 我家从学校很近 → 我家离学校很近

An exact distance

A number of kilometres or minutes follows the reference point, usually with 有.

Time until something

离 + an event + 还有 + a length of time counts down to it.