历 (lì): to experience, to undergo, to pass through, all, each, every
历 (lì) is a Chinese character meaning “to experience.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 厂 (structural) and 力 (phonetic). It ranks #480 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 历 calendar. Its radical form 厂 (cliff) appears in many related characters such as 原 (yuán, former), 厂 (hǎn, "cliff" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 27), occurring in 原, 历, 压 etc), 压 (yā, to press).
Definitions
- to experience
- to undergo
- to pass through
- all
- each
- every
Etymology & Origin
pictophoneticcalendar
Decomposition: ⿸厂力 (layout: surround-from-upper-left)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 历 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 历
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 经历verb/noun | jīng lì | to experience | 4 |
| 历史noun | lì shǐ | history | 3 |
| 简历noun | jiǎn lì | curriculum vitae (CV) | 5 |
| 日历noun | rì lì | calendar | 5 |
| 学历noun | xué lì | educational background | 5 |
| 历经verb | lì jīng | to experience | 6 |
| 历年noun | lì nián | calendar year | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 病历 | bìng lì | medical record |
| 历史性 | lì shǐ xìng | historic |
| 历险 | lì xiǎn | to experience adventures |
| 来历 | lái lì | history |
| 历程 | lì chéng | course |
| 履历 | lǚ lì | background (academic and work) |
| 资历 | zī lì | qualifications |
| 历史学家 | lì shǐ xué jiā | historian |
| 游历 | yóu lì | to tour |
| 阅历 | yuè lì | to experience |
| 历历在目 | lì lì zài mù | vivid in one's mind (idiom) |
| 历来 | lì lái | always |
| 历时 | lì shí | to last |
| 亲历 | qīn lì | to personally experience |
| 历尽 | lì jìn | to have experienced a lot of |
历 appears in 100 compound words: 48 as the first character, 40 as the last, and 12 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 历 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
to have been through the hardships of life; to have been through the mill
Example Sentences
他经历了许多挫折，但从未放弃自己的梦想。
Tā jīnglì le xǔduō cuòzhé, dàn cóng wèi fàngqì zìjǐ de mèngxiǎng.
He experienced many setbacks but never gave up on his dreams.
4宝爸出轨小三24次!性爱行事历曝光 人妻试图私了遭拒怒告索偿
4 bǎo bà chū guǐ xiǎo sān 2 4 cì ! xìng ài háng shì lì pù guāng rén qī shì tú sī le zāo jù nù gào suǒ cháng
4 Bao Dad cheated on the mistress 24 times! The sex calendar was exposed, and the wife tried to be private but was rejected and angrily sued for compensation
谷爱凌李方慧包揽冠亚军,中国体育代表团创历史
gǔ ài líng lǐ fāng huì bāo lǎn guàn yà jūn , zhōng guó tǐ yù dài biǎo tuán chuàng lì shǐ
Gu Ailing and Li Fanghui won the championship and runner-up, and the Chinese sports delegation made history
...026年世界知识产权报告:创新传播速度达历史新高
. . . nián shì jiè zhī shí chǎn quán bào gào chuàng xīn chuán bō sù dù dá lì shǐ xīn gāo
World Intellectual Property Report 2026: Innovation Dissemination Reaches Historic High
文物日历|2月18日·雨水:井饮图壁画砖
wén wù rì lì yuè rì yǔ shuǐ jǐng yǐn tú bì huà zhuān
Cultural Heritage Calendar | February 18 · Rain Water: Well Drinking Scene Mural Brick
欧洲股市高开高走 多国股指刷新历史新高
ōu zhōu gǔ shì gāo kāi gāo zǒu duō guó gǔ zhǐ shuā xīn lì shǐ xīn gāo
European stocks opened higher and gained throughout the session, with indices in multiple countries hitting record highs.
客观的历史存在吗？
Kèguān de lìshǐ cúnzài ma?
Does objective history exist?
他有很多历史书籍。
Tā yǒu hěn duō lìshǐ shūjí.
He has a lot of books on history.
我在找关于古罗马历史的书。
Wǒ zài zhǎo guānyú gǔ Luómǎ lìshǐ de shū.
I'm looking for books on Roman history.
这是一个具有历史价值的城市。
Zhè shì yī gè jùyǒu lìshǐ jiàzhí de chéngshì.
This is a city of real historical value.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 历 (lì) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 历 and 劣?
How many strokes does 历 have?
What is the radical of 历?
What are the components of 历?
What are common words containing 历?
What characters sound the same as 历 (lì)?
Is 历 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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