天理

tiānlǐ

noun #22,602

Meanings

1 the natural order of things
2 Heaven's law
3 moral principle
4 natural justice

Characters

heaven; the natural world

principle; reason; order

Examples

HSK 3

没有天理，这样的事怎么能发生？

Méiyǒu tiānlǐ, zhèyàng de shì zěnme néng fāshēng?

Where is the justice? How can something like this happen?

HSK 7-9

坏人得到了惩罚，这才是天理！

Huàirén dédào le chéngfá, zhè cái shì tiānlǐ!

The bad person got punished - that's natural justice!

Tips

culture

天理 is a Confucian and Neo-Confucian concept referring to the moral order embedded in the universe. In everyday speech, 没天理 is an exclamation meaning something is outrageously unjust or unnatural.

Stroke Order

天 tiān

理 lǐ