近所

Recently, Keita forgot his key and when he got home, nobody was there so he was locked out. Luckily, one of his neighbours invited him in until his mother arrived. But, which neighbour was it? How do we describe the position of our neighbours' houses?

Here are some common ways to describe the position of your neighbours' houses:

Let's say you live in a house at number 3.

Next door = number 2 or number 4
Next door but one = number 1 or number 5
Three doors away = number 6
The house opposite = number 10
The house diagonally opposite = number 9 or number 11

We can also refer to the house by its number:

• "Mr Nakamura lives at number 8."
• "The Yamadas live at number 5."
• "Number 12 is empty - nobody lives there."

Keita's kind neighbour was next door but one.