利 (lì) · sharp; smooth

Meanings

1 sharp; smooth
2 benefit; profit; advantage
3 favorable; beneficial

Characters

利

lì

sharp; benefit; profit

Examples

HSK 3

利用时间学习。

Lìyòng shíjiān xuéxí.

Make use of time to study.

HSK 4

顺利完成了任务。

Shùnlì wánchéng le rènwu.

Successfully completed the task.

HSK 6

合理的政策对经济发展十分有利。

Hélǐ de zhèngcè duì jīngjì fāzhǎn shífēn yǒulì.

A reasonable policy is very favorable to economic development.

Tips

usage

利 is very productive: 利益 (benefit), 利用 (to utilize), 顺利 (smooth/successful), 胜利 (victory), 利润 (profit), 便利 (convenient), 锋利 (sharp). It contrasts with 害 (harm) in 利害 (pros and cons).

Components

radical

刂 dāo

knife (radical form)

Right knife radical 刂 (the standing form of 刀), the indexing component. The blade is the actor here - a sickle harvesting grain. The 'sharp' sense lives in the blade itself; the 'profit/benefit' sense rises from a successful harvest. Same radical: 制, 别, 到, 刚.

semantic

禾 hé

grain plant

Left grain-plant graph, picturing a stalk of standing rice with the head drooping. Together with the knife on the right it depicts a sickle cutting ripe grain - origin of 'sharp' (the sickle is sharp) and 'profit, benefit' (the harvest yields gain). 禾 anchors many crop chars: 秋 (autumn), 种 (plant), 稻 (rice).