理 (lǐ): texture, grain (of wood), inner essence
理 (lǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “texture.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 王 (semantic) and 里 (phonetic). It ranks #89 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 理 king. Its radical form 王 (jade) appears in many related characters such as 玩 (wán, to play), 现 (xiàn, to appear), 班 (bān, team).
Definitions
- texture
- grain (of wood)
- inner essence
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 理 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 理
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 处理verb | chǔ lǐ | to handle | 5 |
| 理解verb | lǐ jiě | to comprehend | 4 |
| 理由noun | lǐ yóu | reason | 5 |
| 心理noun | xīn lǐ | psychology | 5 |
| 经理noun | jīng lǐ | manager | 3 |
| 道理noun | dào li | reason | 5 |
| 理论noun/verb | lǐ lùn | theory | 5 |
| 清理verb | qīng lǐ | to clear up | 6 |
| 管理verb | guǎn lǐ | to supervise | 4 |
| 助理adjective/noun | zhù lǐ | assistant | 6 |
| 合理adjective | hé lǐ | rational | 5 |
| 整理verb | zhěng lǐ | to arrange | 4 |
| 理想noun/adjective | lǐ xiǎng | an ideal | 4 |
| 修理verb | xiū lǐ | to repair | 4 |
| 代理verb | dài lǐ | to act on behalf of sb in a responsible position | 6 |
| 物理noun | wù lǐ | physics | 5 |
| 理性adjective/noun | lǐ xìng | reason | 6 |
| 理念noun | lǐ niàn | idea | 6 |
| 原理noun | yuán lǐ | principle | 6 |
| 总理noun | zǒng lǐ | premier | 6 |
| 地理noun | dì lǐ | geography | 5 |
| 理发verb | lǐ fà | to get a haircut | 4 |
| 办理verb | bàn lǐ | to handle | 4 |
| 理财verb | lǐ cái | to manage wealth | 6 |
| 治理verb | zhì lǐ | to govern | 6 |
| 理科noun | lǐ kē | the sciences (as opposed to the humanities 文科[wen2 ke1]) | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 理智 | lǐ zhì | reason |
| 护理 | hù lǐ | to nurse |
| 生理 | shēng lǐ | physiology |
| 理会 | lǐ huì | to understand |
| 审理 | shěn lǐ | to hear (a case) |
| 推理 | tuī lǐ | reasoning |
| 料理 | liào lǐ | to arrange |
| 理应 | lǐ yīng | should |
理 appears in 100 compound words: 34 as the first character, 66 as the last, and 0 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 理 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (25)
to completely ignore (idiom); to pay no attention to; not to be in the least concerned about
to be unable to put forth any convincing arguments to justify one's opinion; to not have a leg to stand on
Showing 12 of 25 idioms containing 理.
Example Sentences
处理问题时需要理性思考，不能感情用事。
Chǔlǐ wèntí shí xūyào lǐxìng sīkǎo, bùnéng gǎnqíng yòngshì.
When dealing with problems, rational thinking is needed; one cannot be swayed by emotions.
印度AI峰会现尴尬一幕:在总理莫迪出席的场合,Op..
yìn dù A I fēng huì xiàn gān gà yī mù : zài zǒng lǐ mò dí chū xí de chǎng gě , O p . .
An embarrassing scene at the India AI Summit: On the occasion attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Op.
当年轻人成为过年“主理人”,让团圆找到新载体
dāng nián qīng rén chéng wéi guò nián zhǔ lǐ rén , ràng tuán yuán zhǎo dào xīn zài tǐ
When young people become the "managers" of the New Year, let the reunion find a new carrier
大理消防开展防火专项行动:踏查重点林区,对高...
dà lǐ xiāo fáng kāi zhǎn fáng huǒ zhuān xiàng háng dòng : tà chá chóng diǎn lín qū , duì gāo . . .
Dali Fire Protection Carried Out Special Fire Prevention Action: Inspect key forest areas and conduct high...
小床铺我整理,合作互助乐成长
xiǎo chuáng pù wǒ zhěng lǐ , gě zuò hù zhù lè chéng cháng
I make my own bed, cooperate and help each other to grow up.
寒风中的暖流丨贵安新区市场监督管理局为外卖骑手送去..
hán fēng zhōng de nuǎn liú 丨 guì ān xīn ōu shì chǎng jiān dū guǎn lǐ jú wéi wài mài qí shǒu sòng qù . .
Warm Current in the Cold Wind丨Gui'an New District Market Supervision Administration sends takeaway riders...
你为什么不把摩托车拿去修理？
Nǐ wèi shénme bù bǎ mótuōchē ná qù xiūlǐ?
Why don't you have your motorcycle fixed up?
物理和化学你更喜欢哪个？
Wùlǐ hé huàxué nǐ gèng xǐhuan nǎge?
Which do you like better, physics or chemistry?
你难以理解女人和小孩子对你说的话吗？
Nǐ nányǐlǐjiě nǚrén hé xiǎoháizi duì nǐ shuō dehuà ma?
Do you have difficulty understanding what women or small children say to you?
你吃过日本料理吗？
Nǐ chī guo Rìběn liàolǐ ma?
Have you ever eaten Japanese food?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 理 (lǐ) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 理 and 埋?
How many strokes does 理 have?
What is the radical of 理?
What are the components of 理?
What are common words containing 理?
What characters sound the same as 理 (lǐ)?
Is 理 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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