# קרוב vs. ליד



## sawyeric1

What's the difference? How are they used differently?

Thanks


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## Drink

ליד means "next to", while קרוב means "near". These are different concepts even in English.


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## sawyeric1

Material from my Hebrew tutor:

There is a nice spring near Jerusalem
יש מעיין יפה ליד ירושלים


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## Drink

Well yes, they overlap, so in situations like this you can use either one in both languages. Your Hebrew tutor chose to use "near" in English and "ליד" in Hebrew, but you could have it the other way around as well: "There is a nice spring next to Jerusalem" "יש מעיין יפה קרוב מירושלים"


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## slus

קרוב *ל*ירושלים


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## Drink

slus said:


> קרוב *ל*ירושלים



Really? I always thought you use מ with קרוב. Maybe I confused it with Arabic.


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## slus

Yes, in Arabic it is 
قريب من
but in Hebrew 
קרוב ל-


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## sawyeric1

Native English speakers wouldn't say "There's a nice spring next to Jerusalem".


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## elroy

sawyeric1 said:


> Native English speakers wouldn't say "There's a nice spring next to Jerusalem".


 Agreed.


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## shalom00

Sure I would.


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## Drink

sawyeric1 said:


> Native English speakers wouldn't say "There's a nice spring next to Jerusalem".



I disagree.


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## slus

This is a Hebrew forum, but what would an English native speaker say?


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## shalom00

As a native English speaker, I say that if the two places were very close, one might use "next to".

In New York City, there is a central branch of the US Post Office next to Penn Station.


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## sawyeric1

I couldn't find any official rule about when to say "next to" with cities, so I think it just comes down to each person's preference.


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## shalom00

Well, "next to" really means not just "close", but "very close".

But even then, some people would prefer to say "close" or "near".

And then some people tend to use extremes, so that everything is either "next door" or "on the other side of the planet".


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## sawyeric1

How does על-יד compare with ליד?


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