Most commonly encountered as a surname or in 黎明 (límíng, dawn). The 'multitude' meaning survives in the literary term 黎民 (límín, the common people) and 黎民百姓 (límín bǎixìng, the masses). Also abbreviates 黎巴嫩 (Líbānèn, Lebanon).
The 黍 (millet) component wraps around the central part as the indexing Kangxi radical. Originally 黎 referred to a sticky millet-glue used in shoemaking; the millet imagery survives in the radical placement and links 黎 to the small 黍-radical family.
ideograph
黎lí
dark; multitude; sticky
Central trio of strokes functions as a fused residue anchoring the middle of the 黍-wrap; it has lost its independent shape in the modern silhouette and reads as one indivisible inner element. Historically an inner phonetic element, now collapsed into a single block supporting the meanings 'dark' and 'common people'.
