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丽

麗
lí / lì
noun #2,408

Meanings

  1. 1 Korea (in historical and traditional-product compounds)

Examples

高丽王朝是朝鲜半岛的重要时期。
Gāolí wángcháo shì Cháoxiǎn bàndǎo de zhòngyào shíqī.
The Goryeo dynasty was an important period on the Korean peninsula.
他买了一盒高丽参送给爸爸。
Tā mǎi le yī hé gāolíshēn sòng gěi bàba.
He bought a box of Korean ginseng as a gift for his father.

Tips

history
The lí reading is locked to the Korea family of words. 高丽 is the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) that reunified the Korean peninsula and gave the modern English word 'Korea' (via Marco Polo's 'Cauli'). Modern Korea is 韩国 (South) or 朝鲜 (North); 高丽 is the historical and cultural label — used for traditional products (ginseng, rice paper) and historical references.
mistakes
Outside the Korea word-family, never read 丽. The default reading is 丽 (beautiful). A safe rule: if the word talks about Korea or a Korea-origin product, lí; otherwise lì.

Components

radical
丶 zhǔ
dot stroke
Indexed under Kangxi #3 丶 (dot) because of the two dots tucked inside the paired chambers below the cap. The lower half pictures twin ornamental antler-frames with dot ornaments — a stylised survivor of the traditional 麗 deer. Modern silhouette doesn't decompose into independent units; this whole region is treated as one indexing-radical block.
ideograph
一 yī
one; top horizontal
Top horizontal acts as a unifying bar capping the twin chambers below, preparing the eye to read them as a paired pattern. Pure positional marker rather than the numeral one. Historically part of traditional 麗 (a deer with paired ornamental antlers); the simplified silhouette retains only this connecting bar.

Stroke Order

丽 lí