利 (lì): sharp, favorable, advantage
利 (lì) is a Chinese character meaning “sharp.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 禾 (structural) and 刂 (structural). It ranks #155 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 利 harvesting 刂 grain 禾. Its radical form 刂 (knife) appears in many related characters such as 分 (fēn, to divide), 别 (bié, to leave), 到 (dào, to reach).
Definitions
- sharp
- favorable
- advantage
Etymology & Origin
ideographicHarvesting 刂 grain 禾
Decomposition: ⿰禾刂 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 利 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 利
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 利用verb | lì yòng | to exploit | 5 |
| 权利noun | quán lì | right (i.e. an entitlement to sth) | 5 |
| 顺利adjective | shùn lì | smoothly | 4 |
| 胜利verb | shèng lì | victory | 5 |
| 利益noun | lì yì | benefit | 5 |
| 不利adjective | bù lì | unfavorable | 5 |
| 有利adjective | yǒu lì | advantageous | 5 |
| 福利noun/verb | fú lì | benefit (provided by an employer or organization) | 6 |
| 利润noun | lì rùn | profits | 5 |
| 便利adjective/verb | biàn lì | convenient | 5 |
| 利息noun | lì xī | interest (on a loan) | 6 |
| 专利noun | zhuān lì | patent | 6 |
| 流利adjective | liú lì | fluent | 4 |
| 便利店noun | biàn lì diàn | convenience store | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 意大利 | yì dà lì | Italy |
| 亨利proper-noun | hēng lì | Henry (name) |
| 比利 | bǐ lì | (HK, Sg, Tw) Pelé (1940–2022), Edson Arantes Do Nascimento, Brazilian football star |
| 哈利proper-noun | hā lì | Harry |
| 威利 | wēi lì | Wylie (name) |
| 维多利亚 | wéi duō lì yà | (name) Victoria |
| 澳大利亚proper-noun | ào dà lì yà | Australia |
| 凯利 | kǎi lì | Kelly (person name) |
| 战利品 | zhàn lì pǐn | spoils of war |
| 玛利亚proper-noun | mǎ lì yà | Mary (biblical name) |
| 胜利者noun | shèng lì zhě | victor |
| 菲利普 | fēi lì pǔ | (name) Philip |
| 比利时 | bǐ lì shí | Belgium |
| 锋利adjective | fēng lì | sharp (e.g. knife blade) |
| 斯坦利proper-noun | sī tǎn lì | Stanley (name) |
利 appears in 138 compound words: 23 as the first character, 55 as the last, and 22 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 利 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (67)
Showing 12 of 67 idioms containing 利.
Example Sentences
利字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
lì zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
The character for "profit" may be difficult to write, but its meaning is quite interesting.
中国公务员春节参加相亲 炫富有宾利、保时捷、房子很多
zhōng guó gōng wù yuán chūn jié cān jiā xiāng qīn xuàn fù yǒu bīn lì , bǎo shí jié , fáng zǐ hěn duō
Chinese civil servants participate in the blind date during the Spring Festival and show off their wealth Bentley, Porsche, and many houses
...enerali 2025财年业绩:创纪录利润,拟派发2.9欧元股息
. . . e n e r a l i 2 0 2 5 cái nián yè jì : chuàng jì lù lì rùn , nǐ pài fā 2 . 9 ōu yuán gǔ xī
... Enerali fiscal year 2025 results: record profit, proposed dividend of 2.9 euros
凯基金五箭齐发 获利亮眼
kǎi jī jīn wǔ jiàn qí fā huò lì liàng yǎn
Kai Fund made eye-catching profits
利弗莫尔中概股龙头指数收涨0.94% 网易...
lì 弗 mò ěr zhōng gài gǔ lóng tóu zhǐ shǔ shōu zhǎng 0 . 9 4 wǎng yì . . .
Livermore Chinese Concept Stock Leading Index closed up 0.94% NetEase...
那个词用意大利语怎么说？
Nàge cí yòng Yìdàlìyǔ zěnme shuō?
How do you say that in Italian?
您什么时候回意大利？
Nín shénmeshíhou huí Yìdàlì?
When are you returning to Italy?
你会说义大利语吗？
Nǐ huì shuō Yìdàlì yǔ ma?
Do you speak Italian?
她是第一次来意大利吗？
Tā shì dìyīcì láiyì dà lì ma?
Is this her first time coming to Italy?
你可以为我把这份报告翻译成意大利文吗？
Nǐ kěyǐ wèi wǒ bǎ zhè fèn bàogào fānyì chéng Yìdàlì wén ma?
Could you put this report into Italian for me?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 利 (lì) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 利 have?
What is the radical of 利?
What are the components of 利?
What are common words containing 利?
What characters sound the same as 利 (lì)?
Is 利 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 利 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.