厘

釐
lí
noun #20,959

Meanings

  1. 1 unit of length (1/30 meter); centimeter
  2. 2 unit of currency (1/1000 yuan)

Examples

HSK 6
Yī límǐ děngyú shí háomǐ.
One centimeter equals ten millimeters.
HSK 6
厘清事实很重要。
Líqīng shìshí hěn zhòngyào.
Clarifying the facts is important.

Tips

usage
Most commonly seen in 厘米 (centimeter). Also used in 厘清 (to clarify).

Components

radical
厂 chǎng
cliff; shelter
Cliff radical wrapping the top-left - a sheltering overhang of rock. The indexing element. The radical is structural rather than semantic here: 厘 is a simplified replacement for traditional 釐, and the modern shape stacks the inner 里 under the 厂 overhang for a compact silhouette. Same radical-厂 graph-family includes 厚 (thick), 原 (origin), 厦 (mansion).
phonetic
里 lǐ
village; inside; Chinese mile
Inside 里 supplies the sound - lǐ drifting to lí through tone shift. 里 itself depicts a field (田) above earth (土), the seed for 'village, neighbourhood, inner'. Helpfully, 里 was also a classical unit of distance - and 厘 is a tiny unit of measurement (a hundredth, a thousandth). The phonetic carries both reading and a faint measurement flavour.

Stroke Order

厘 lí