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丽

麗
lí / lì
noun #2,408

Meanings

  1. 1 Korea

Examples

HSK 7-9
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.
HSK 7-9
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or 朝鲜 (North); 高丽 is the historical and cultural label - used for traditional products (ginseng, rice paper) and historical references.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