利 (lì): sharp; smooth

Meanings

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

Characters

利

li

sharp; benefit; profit

Examples

这对你有利。

Zhè duì nǐ yǒulì.

This is beneficial to you.

顺利完成了任务。

Shùnlì wánchéng le rènwu.

Successfully completed the task.

利用时间学习。

Lìyòng shíjiān xuéxí.

Make use of time to study.

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).