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例

lì
noun #7,109

Meanings

  1. 1 example; case; instance
  2. 2 rule; regulation
  3. 3 precedent

Examples

请举个例子。
Qǐng jǔ gèlì zi.
Please give an example.
比如说，例如……
Bǐrúshuō, lìrú … …
For instance, for example...
这是一个特例。
Zhè shì yīgè tèlì.
This is a special case.

Tips

usage
例 is used in: 例子 (example), 例如 (for example), 例外 (exception), 惯例 (convention), 案例 (case study), 病例 (medical case). It is more formal/written in tone.

Components

radical
亻 rén
person (radical form)
Person radical on the left — also 例's indexing radical (side-form of 人). The original sense was 'a person serving as a sample or precedent,' from which came 'example, instance, case.' Same radical anchors a wide cluster of human-relational chars: 你, 他, 们, 信, 任, 仁.
phonetic
列 liè
line up; series
Right side 列 supplies the sound: liè → lì with regular tone-and-coda shift. Crucially 列 also adds direct semantic flavour — 'a person + lined up' gives 'one in a series, one of many cases,' which is exactly 例's meaning. So this is a phonetic-plus-semantic doubling: a sample standing in line as a representative case.

Stroke Order

例 lì