离 (lí): to leave, to part from, to be away from, (in giving distances) from, without (sth), independent of
离 (lí) is a Chinese character meaning “to leave.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 禸 (track). It ranks #418 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 离 an animal standing straight; 亠 is the head. Its radical form 禸 (track) appears in many related characters such as 禽 (qín, (bound form) birds).
Definitions
- to leave
- to part from
- to be away from
- (in giving distances) from
- without (sth)
- independent of
Etymology & Origin
pictographicAn animal standing straight; 亠 is the head
Decomposition: ⿱⿱亠凶禸 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 离 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 离
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 离开verb | lí kāi | to depart | 3 |
| 离婚 | lí hūn | to divorce | 5 |
| 距离verb/noun | jù lí | distance | 4 |
| 远离verb | yuǎn lí | to be far from | 4 |
| 分离verb | fēn lí | to separate | 5 |
| 离职verb | lí zhí | to leave one's job temporarily (e.g. for study) | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 隔离 | gé lí | to separate |
| 脱离 | tuō lí | to separate oneself from |
| 逃离 | táo lí | to run out |
| 撤离 | chè lí | to withdraw from |
| 离去 | lí qù | to leave |
| 离谱 | lí pǔ | inappropriate |
| 偏离 | piān lí | to deviate |
| 离奇 | lí qí | odd |
| 离不开 | lí bu kāi | inseparable |
| 等离子 | děng lí zǐ | (physics) plasma |
| 离子 | lí zǐ | ion |
| 离别 | lí bié | to leave (on a long journey) |
| 离异 | lí yì | to divorce |
| 离岸 | lí àn | offshore |
| 迷离 | mí lí | blurred |
离 appears in 100 compound words: 49 as the first character, 37 as the last, and 14 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 离 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (26)
(Buddhism) the pain of parting with what (or whom) one loves, one of the eight distresses 八苦[ba1 ku3]
sorrow, joy, separation and reunion; vicissitudes of life; sorrows and joys
neither familiar nor distant; keeping at arm's length (of a relationship with someone)
to lure an opponent out; to get rid of an opponent or a problem to achieve one's goal
(Buddhism) the pain of parting with what (or whom) one loves, one of the eight distresses 八苦[ba1 ku3]
neither familiar nor distant; keeping at arm's length (of a relationship with someone)
to lure an opponent out; to get rid of an opponent or a problem to achieve one's goal
Showing 12 of 26 idioms containing 离.
Example Sentences
离字在日常生活中使用频率中等。
chī zì zài rì cháng shēng huó zhōng shǐ yòng pín lǜ zhōng děng .
The character "离" is used moderately frequently in daily life.
LUNA SEA官方公布鼓手真矢不敌病情离世 享年56岁
L U N A S E A guān fāng gōng bù gǔ shǒu zhēn shǐ bù dí bìng qíng lí shì xiǎng nián 5 6 suì
LUNA SEA officially announced that drummer Maya passed away at the age of 56
搭完邮轮有“离船症候群”?30-60岁女性最常见
dā wán yóu lún yǒu lí chuán zhèng hòu qún ? 3 0 6 0 suì nǚ xìng zuì cháng jiàn
After a cruise, "disembarkation syndrome" is most common among women aged 30-60
冬奥—谷爱凌夺金后得悉外婆离世 记者会上哭说“昨晚才梦到她”
dōng ào — gǔ ài líng duó jīn hòu dé xī wài pó lí shì jì zhě huì shàng kū shuō zuó wǎn cái mèng dào tā
Winter Olympics - After Gu Ailing won the gold medal, she learned of her grandmother's death and cried at the press conference, "I only dreamed of her last night"
出国荷包失血!泰国六大机场6月起国际离境费大涨53%
chū guó hé bāo shī xiě ! tài guó liù dà jī chǎng 6 yuè qǐ guó jì lí jìng fèi dà zhǎng 5 3
Blood loss in the wallet abroad! Thailand's six major airports have seen a 53% increase in international departure fees since June
请问新桥饭店离这儿远不远？
Qǐngwèn xīn qiáo fàndiàn lí zhèr yuǎn bù yuǎn?
Excuse me, is Xinqiao Restaurant far from here?
你的学校离这儿远吗？
Nǐ de xuéxiào lí zhèr yuǎn ma?
Is your school far from here?
您昨天为什么离开教室？
Nín zuótiān wèishénme líkāi jiàoshì?
Why did you leave the classroom yesterday?
这里离上野有多远？
Zhèlǐ lí Shàngyě yǒu duō yuǎn?
How far is it from here to Ueno?
当我们离开的时候，谁来照顾狗？
Dāng wǒmen líkāi de shíhou, shéi lái zhàogu gǒu?
Who will take care of the dog while we are away?
Character Family
禸 Radical Family — Characters sharing the track radical
Related Characters
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 离 (lí) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 离 have?
What is the radical of 离?
What are common words containing 离?
Is 离 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 离 with real-time feedback
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