‘右邻’ literally means ‘right-side neighbor’—a compound noun formed from 右 (yòu), meaning ‘right’, and 邻 (lín), meaning ‘neighbor’ or ‘adjacent person/place’. It refers specifically to the person or household located immediately to one’s right, especially in contexts involving physical proximity such as apartment buildings, row houses, or office layouts. Unlike the more general term 邻居 (línjū), which simply means ‘neighbor’, 右邻 emphasizes spatial orientation and is often used alongside its counterpart 左邻 (zuǒ lín, ‘left neighbor’) to describe adjacent relationships symmetrically.

This term appears most frequently in formal descriptions, real estate documents, urban planning discussions, or polite speech when distinguishing between neighboring units. It is neutral in register and carries no emotional connotation—it’s purely directional and relational. While rarely used in casual daily conversation (where people usually say 我右边的邻居), 右邻 is common in written Chinese and structured oral explanations requiring precision about location.