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历

歷
lì
verb #12,608

Meanings

  1. 1 to experience; to go through
  2. 2 calendar
  3. 3 history; past

Examples

中国有悠久的历史。
Zhōngguó yǒu yōujiǔ de lìshǐ.
China has a long history.
他的经历很丰富。
Tā de jīnglì hěn fēngfù.
He has rich experiences.
日历上今天是星期几？
Rìlì shàng jīntiān shì xīngqī jǐ?
What day is it on the calendar?

Tips

usage
历 is used in: 历史 (history), 经历 (experience), 日历 (calendar), 历年 (over the years), 学历 (educational background). Note: the traditional character for 'calendar' (曆) is different from 'experience' (歷), but both are simplified to 历.

Components

radical
厂 chǎng
cliff; factory (radical form)
Outer cliff radical — two strokes forming an overhang. The indexing radical of simplified 历, which merged traditional 歷 (to pass through) and 曆 (calendar) into one. The cliff originally suggested a sheltered place where time passes; today the radical is mostly graphic.
phonetic
力 lì
strength; power
Inside 力 — pictograph of a plough (or a flexed arm). Supplies the sound lì with no shift — a clean phonetic in the simplified form, chosen to drastically reduce the strokes of traditional 歷 (which had two 禾 stalks under the cliff). The 'strength' meaning is incidental.

Stroke Order

历 lì