励 (lì): to encourage, to urge
励 (lì) is a Chinese character meaning “to encourage.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 厉 (phonetic) and 力 (semantic). It ranks #1459 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 励 strength. Its radical form 力 (power) appears in many related characters such as 动 (dòng, (of sth) to move), 力 (lì, power), 办 (bàn, to take care of (a matter)).
Definitions
- to encourage
- to urge
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 励 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 励
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 励志verb | lì zhì | to pursue a goal with determination |
| 勉励verb | miǎn lì | to encourage |
| 激励机制 | jī lì jī zhì | incentive mechanism |
| 励精图治phrase | lì jīng tú zhì | (of a ruler) to strive to make one's nation strong and prosperous (idiom) |
| 奖励旅行 | jiǎng lì lǚ xíng | incentive travel |
| 励志哥 | lì zhì gē | (coll.) a guy who is admired for having overcome challenges to achieve success |
| 奖励旅游 | jiǎng lì lǚ yóu | incentive travel |
| 策励verb | cè lì | to encourage |
| 王励勤 | wáng lì qín | Wang Liqin (1978-), former PRC table tennis player, Olympic medalist |
励 appears in 12 compound words: 25 as the first character, 42 as the last, and 33 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 励 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
励字由7笔画组成，结构很巧妙。
lì zì yóu bǐ huà zǔ chéng , jié gòu hěn qiǎo miào .
The character "励" consists of seven strokes, with a remarkably ingenious structure.
压力山大却有近半人放心里 南投卫生局鼓励隐形压力族勇于求助
yā lì shān dà què yǒu jìn bàn rén fàng xīn lǐ nán tóu wèi shēng jú gǔ lì yǐn xíng yā lì zú yǒng yú qiú zhù
The pressure is great, but nearly half of the people are at ease Nantou Health Bureau encourages invisible stressors to have the courage to ask for help
火鹤花田改种洋香瓜 父亲鼓励8年级生姊妹“不务正业”
huǒ hè huā tián gǎi zhǒng yáng xiāng guā fù qīn gǔ lì 8 nián jí shēng 姊 mèi bù wù zhèng yè
Fire Crane Flower Field Changed to Cantaloupe Father Encouraged 8th Grade Sisters to "Not Do Their Job"
阿尔加维首次人工智能设计冲刺激励年轻人打造负责任的人工智能公益项目
ā ěr jiā wéi shǒu cì rén gōng zhì néng shè jì chōng cì jī lì nián qīng rén dǎ zào fù zé rèn de rén gōng zhì néng gōng yì xiàng mù
Algarve's first AI design sprint inspires young people to create responsible AI projects for good
年后跳槽快看!劳动部祭“课程奖励金”条件曝 最高领100万
nián hòu tiào cáo kuài kàn ! láo dòng bù jì kè chéng jiǎng lì jīn tiáo jiàn pù zuì gāo lǐng 1 0 0 wàn
Jump to work after the year! The Ministry of Labor offered "course incentives" conditions to receive up to 1 million
竹县爱讲“客”推学校客语能力 扩大奖励对象
zhú xiàn ài jiǎng kè tuī xué jiào kè yǔ néng lì kuò dà jiǎng lì duì xiàng
Zhu County loves to speak "guests" and promote the school's Hakka language ability to expand the reward objects
我？鼓励你去工作？不可能！
Wǒ? gǔlì nǐ qù gōngzuò? bù kěnéng!
Me? Encourage you to work? Blasphemy!
汤姆鼓励玛丽再去尝试一次。
Tāngmǔ gǔlì Mǎlì zài qù chángshì yīcì.
Tom encouraged Mary to try again.
我伤心的时候，我的朋友会鼓励我。
Wǒ shāngxīn de shíhou, wǒ de péngyou huì gǔlì wǒ.
When I'm sad, my friends encourage me.
秘密的礼物公开的奖励。
Mìmì de lǐwù gōngkāi de jiǎnglì.
Secret gifts are openly rewarded.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 力 (strength) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 励 (lì) mean in Chinese?
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What is the radical of 励?
What are the components of 励?
What are common words containing 励?
What characters sound the same as 励 (lì)?
Is 励 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 励 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.