理
lǐ
- Pinyin
- lǐ
- Pinyin (Plain)
- li
- Tone
- 3
- Strokes
- 11
- Radical
- 玉
- Readings
- lǐliTone: 3texture; grain (of wood); inner essence; intrinsic order; reason; logic; truth; science; natural science (esp. physics); to manage; to pay attention to; to run (affairs); to handle; to put in order; to tidy upOrder: 0Primary
- Stroke Order Code
- Speed
- Stroke Order Data
- ["M 275 645 Q 315 657 360 667 Q 388 674 392 679 Q 401 688 396 696 Q 389 708 358 714 Q 337 717 245 686 Q 152 668 148 667 Q 111 658 138 643 Q 177 622 233 635 L 275 645 Z", "M 300 451 Q 321 458 346 465 Q 370 472 374 477 Q 381 484 376 493 Q 369 503 339 508 Q 320 509 302 504 L 250 483 Q 198 467 153 457 Q 119 447 146 434 Q 180 419 251 436 L 300 451 Z", "M 295 281 Q 298 372 300 451 L 302 504 Q 302 558 306 594 Q 315 618 275 645 C 251 663 224 664 233 635 Q 248 596 250 483 L 251 436 Q 251 369 251 264 C 251 234 294 251 295 281 Z", "M 251 264 Q 196 245 137 222 Q 118 215 86 213 Q 73 210 72 200 Q 71 187 81 178 Q 106 163 141 147 Q 153 144 164 154 Q 195 182 371 278 Q 396 291 413 306 Q 426 315 426 325 Q 419 329 407 326 Q 355 304 295 281 L 251 264 Z", "M 455 722 Q 436 734 414 738 Q 407 741 402 735 Q 395 729 404 718 Q 449 648 459 475 Q 460 414 499 386 Q 500 385 503 383 Q 516 380 520 396 L 521 426 Q 520 451 511 481 Q 487 674 488 688 C 487 704 481 707 455 722 Z", "M 729 422 Q 747 394 764 385 Q 776 376 792 399 Q 814 436 853 633 Q 863 667 890 693 Q 903 706 892 722 Q 876 741 829 770 Q 811 779 725 763 Q 716 762 707 760 Q 686 757 455 722 C 425 718 459 681 488 688 Q 528 698 584 706 L 636 714 Q 682 721 738 726 Q 775 730 786 718 Q 805 696 800 674 Q 761 466 739 452 C 724 429 724 429 729 422 Z", "M 654 558 Q 691 565 723 569 Q 745 573 737 585 Q 727 598 703 603 Q 684 606 655 598 L 607 585 Q 567 575 531 564 Q 515 560 534 547 Q 540 543 607 551 L 654 558 Z", "M 650 412 Q 690 419 729 422 C 759 424 765 437 739 452 Q 712 470 652 455 Q 651 455 651 454 C 646 452 634 450 605 444 Q 560 435 521 426 C 492 419 490 392 520 396 L 605 407 L 650 412 Z", "M 644 134 Q 645 197 646 254 L 647 303 Q 648 360 650 412 L 651 454 Q 652 508 654 558 L 655 598 Q 655 610 659 667 Q 668 691 636 714 C 613 734 570 733 584 706 Q 591 691 599 678 Q 605 654 607 585 L 607 551 Q 607 511 605 444 L 605 407 Q 604 358 602 293 L 601 246 Q 600 192 598 128 C 597 98 644 104 644 134 Z", "M 646 254 Q 784 282 786 283 Q 795 290 791 300 Q 784 312 754 321 Q 724 328 647 303 L 602 293 Q 598 293 596 292 Q 541 282 475 277 Q 438 273 464 254 Q 500 230 575 243 Q 587 246 601 246 L 646 254 Z", "M 598 128 Q 471 118 326 103 Q 304 102 319 83 Q 334 68 352 62 Q 374 55 390 60 Q 591 108 887 96 Q 909 96 932 95 Q 953 94 958 103 Q 964 115 947 130 Q 893 172 855 164 Q 774 151 644 134 L 598 128 Z"]
- Meaning
- “理” most commonly means “reason, logic, or principle” behind how things work or why something is right (as in 道理 “reason/principle”). It can also mean “to manage, put in order, or deal with” things (as in 整理 “to put in order,” 处理 “to handle”).
- Metadata
- Locale: enCached At: 5/9/2026, 2:27:47 AM
Usage
The character 理 (lǐ) is very common and generally carries the sense of “reason,” “logic,” or “order.” Learners first meet it in everyday words like 道理 (dàoli, reason/principle), 理解 (lǐjiě, to understand), 整理 (zhěnglǐ, to tidy up/organize), and 经理 (jīnglǐ, manager). In these, 理 often suggests making things clear, organized, or reasonable. It can also appear in verbs like 处理 (chǔlǐ, to handle/deal with) and 管理 (guǎnlǐ, to manage), where it keeps this idea of putting things in order or dealing with them in a systematic way. Another frequent use is “to pay attention to” or “to deal with (a person)” in spoken Chinese, as in 不理他 (bù lǐ tā, ignore him / don’t bother with him). In some words, it leans more toward “principle” or “inner logic,” like in 道理 (reason), 理论 (lǐlùn, theory), and 物理 (wùlǐ, physics – literally “the principles of things”). Learners thus encounter 理 both in abstract contexts (reason, principle, logic) and very concrete ones (organizing, managing, paying attention), making it a core character in modern Mandarin.
Handwriting Notes
理 in handwriting has a clear left-right structure: the left side is the “king” component (王), written as three horizontal lines connected by a vertical stroke, and the right side is the “village/inside” component (里), which looks like a box enclosing a central vertical line with two short horizontal strokes. In neat handwriting, the whole character tends to be slightly wider than tall, with the 王 on the left a bit narrower than 里 on the right. Key visual anchors for learners are the three parallel horizontals of 王, the enclosing box of 里, and the strong central verticals that run through each part, which help the character feel stable and balanced on the page. In actual pen or brush writing, lines are rarely perfectly straight or mechanically spaced: the three horizontals on the left can be slightly curved or have varied length and thickness, and the outer box of 里 may be somewhat open or rounded in corners, especially in quick notes. The internal strokes of 里 might be written lighter, shorter, or with small gaps, and in fast cursive styles the left and right components can appear more compressed or connected. Despite this variation, the overall silhouette—王 on the left, a boxed structure on the right with a vertical and inner horizontals—remains recognizable. Modern AI handwriting recognition systems are trained to handle this range of handwritten styles and still identify 理 correctly, using its consistent structural pattern rather than expecting one rigid, print-like shape.
Description
理 is a common Chinese character that means “reason,” “principle,” or “logic,” and can also mean to “manage” or “deal with” something. It is often used in words like 道理 (reason/principle), 理解 (to understand), and 管理 (to manage).
Common Words
- 理li3texture
- 理念li3 nian4idea
- 真理zhen1 li3truth
- 事理shi4 li3reason
- 伦理lun2 li3ethics
Example Sentences
我喜欢理。
wo3 xi3 huan5 li3
I like texture.
理念很常见。
li3 nian4 hen3 chang2 jian4
理念 is very common.
我们在学习真理。
wo3 men5 zai4 xue2 xi2 zhen1 li3
We are learning truth.
这个事理很重要。
zhe4 ge5 shi4 li3 hen3 zhong4 yao4
This reason is important.
请写一下“理”。
qing3 xie3 yi1 xia4 li3
Please write '理'.