How to say "far" in Japanese

• 遠いとおいJLPT N5approx.Common
  i-adjectiveThe plain adjective 'far; distant; far away; a long way off' — the word you will usually want for saying that a station, town, or other place is far away.
  彼かれの家いえはここから遠とおくない。↗

  His house is not far from here.
• はるかJLPT N1approx.Common
  na-adjective, adverbAlso 'far away; far off; distant', but with a nuance of great distance — something lying far off, like a distant mountain range or horizon. Usually written in kana rather than with kanji.
  私の故郷こきょうは海うみのはるか向むこうにある。↗

  My home lies far across the sea.
• 遠くとおくJLPT N4approx.Common
  adverbCovers 'far' in time — long ago, far back in the past, or far into the future — rather than the plain spatial 'far'; for that sense, 遠い is the word.

Use 「遠い」 for the plain adjective 'far, distant', 「はるか」 to stress that something lies far away or far off, and 「遠く」 for 'far' in time — long ago, far back, or far into the future.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 遠いとおいfar
• はるかfar away
• 数等すうとうby far
• はるかにby far
• 容積率ようせきりつfloor space index
• 遠くとおくlong ago
• ずっとmuch (more)
• 長々ながなが(extending) far