不即不离 in English bu4 ji2 bu4 li2 Meaning

Meanings

• to be neither too familiar nor too distant
• to keep somebody at arm's length

Pinyin

bu4 ji2 bu4 li2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

不bu4(negative prefix) 即ji2namely 不bu4(negative prefix) 离li2mythical beast (archaic)