距人千里 — “To keep people at a great distance”

距人千里 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to keep people at a great distance”. To be extremely aloof, haughty, and unapproachable, often implying an unwillingness to engage or compromise. Literally, “To keep people a thousand li away”.

Frequency

距人千里 Pronunciation and Pinyin

距人千里 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
距	jù	12	distance or gap
人	rén	2	human being, person
千	qiān	3	thousand, many
里	lǐ	7	inside, village, unit of length

Example Sentence with 距人千里

尽管她才华横溢，但总是给人一种距人千里的感觉，让同事们难以亲近。

Although she is highly talented, she always gives people the impression of keeping them at a thousand li's distance, making it difficult for colleagues to get close to her.

Origin and Story of 距人千里

During the Warring States period, Duke Ping of Lu intended to appoint Le Zhengzi, a disciple of Mencius, to administer the state. Mencius was overjoyed.

Gongsun Chou asked Mencius if Le Zhengzi was truly capable. Mencius replied that in terms of ability, knowledge, and experience, Le Zhengzi was not superior to Gongsun Chou.

However, his strong point was his excellent treatment of people; he would not 'keep people at a thousand li's distance' (拒人于千里之外). Many people gathered around him, which would enable him to govern the state well.

This idiom describes someone who is extremely aloof and unapproachable, often due to arrogance or unwillingness to engage, contrasting with Le Zhengzi's approachable nature.