偏远

• Pinyin: piān yuǎn
• Hanzi breakdown: 偏 = 亻 + 扁 (person + off-centre); 远 = 辶 + 袁 (movement radical + long robe — moving far away)

Meaning

Remote; far-flung; distant and isolated from urban or administrative centres. Emphasises geographical distance and difficulty of access.

偏远 is commonly used in policy and development contexts for broader regions rather than small isolated spots. Key collocations: 偏远地区, 偏远山区, 偏远农村. Similar to 偏僻 but more frequently applied to regions and areas rather than specific locations.

Examples

1. 国家近年来加大了对偏远地区的基础设施投入，力求缩小城乡之间在公共服务水平上的显著差距。 In recent years, the country has increased infrastructure investment in remote areas in an effort to narrow the significant gap between urban and rural public services.
2. 那支医疗队深入偏远山区，为数千名从未接受过正规体检的村民提供了免费医疗服务。 That medical team went deep into remote mountain regions and provided free medical services to thousands of villagers who had never received a formal checkup.
3. 互联网的普及使偏远地区的孩子也能接触到优质的线上教育资源，在一定程度上弥补了地域差距带来的教育不公平。 The spread of the internet has enabled children in remote areas to access high-quality online education resources, helping to some extent to make up for educational inequality caused by geography.

Usage Guide

Context: policy, development, education, geography

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 数字基础设施的建设不应仅惠及经济发达地区，偏远山区和边境地带同样亟需稳定可靠的网络覆盖，以支撑当地经济的数字化转型。(The construction of digital infrastructure should not benefit only economically developed areas; remote mountain regions and border zones equally urgently need stable and reliable network coverage to support the digital transformation of local economies.)
• 这名年轻教师主动申请前往偏远乡村任教，将个人的职业发展选择与国家对农村基础教育的迫切需求紧密相连，受到了社会各界的广泛称赞。(This young teacher voluntarily applied to teach in a remote village, closely connecting their personal career development choices with the country's urgent needs for rural basic education — and was widely praised by all sectors of society.)

Don't Say

• 这条路偏远 — 偏远 describes locations or regions, not individual roads; say 这条路通往偏远山区 or 这一带地处偏远

Origin & History

偏 (off-centre, not main) + 远 (far, distant) — far off from the main centres of activity

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal