To Become Separated
To Separate, To Move Away
intransitive verb, ichidan verb
Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means detach, but what happens when something detaches? It causes it to become separated, aka to separate or to move away from something else.
You use 離れる when two things that were together separate and become distant from one another. This can refer to a physical detachment, but it can also describe someone moving away from a place, group, or role, or even people drifting apart emotionally. You also use it to describe places that are far from each other.
For the reading, think about what it means to be separated. Imagine how all the cherry blossom 花s (はな) separate from their branches and fall to the ground after blooming in the spring. Ah, to separate is so sad, and yet so beautiful!
ペットとしばらく離れるのがつらい。
It's hard to be away from my pet for a while.
家から駅まで少し離れているんです。
It's a little ways from my house to the station.
やっぱりふるさとを離れるのは、さびしいでしょ？
Leaving your hometown is a little sad, don't you think?
親元から離れて一人暮らしをすることは思っていたよりも簡単でした。
Being away from my parents and living by myself was easier than I thought.