立 (lì): to stand; to erect

Meanings

1 to stand; to erect
2 to set up; to establish
3 immediately; at once

Characters

立

lì

to stand; to establish; immediately

Examples

请立刻回来。

Qǐng lìkè huílái.

Please come back immediately.

他站立了很久。

Tā zhànlì le hěn jiǔ.

He stood for a long time.

Tips

usage

立 is in 立刻 (lìkè, immediately), 独立 (dúlì, independent), 建立 (jiànlì, to establish), 成立 (chénglì, to found), 站立 (zhànlì, to stand), 立场 (lìchǎng, standpoint).

history

立 is a pictograph of a person standing on the ground. It's both a standalone character and a common radical component.

Components

pictograph

立 lì

to stand

A direct pictograph: a person 大 (with arms outstretched) planted on a horizontal ground line. Oracle-bone forms show the figure standing tall on the earth. 立 is itself a Kangxi radical and indexes a small upright family: 站 to stand, 端 upright, 童 child, 章 chapter, 竞 to compete.

Radical

Stand Kangxi #117

Modest productivity as a meaning radical (站, 竖, 端, 竞), but extremely common as a structural component on the left or top of compound characters. Pictograph of a person standing with feet planted on the ground line, which gives it a recurring 'upright / set up' connotation in classical compounds.