篱 (lí): fence

Meanings

1 fence
2 hedge
3 railing (classical/literary)

Characters

篱

lí

fence, hedge

Examples

采菊东篱下，悠然见南山。

Cǎijúdōnglíxià, yōuránjiànnánshān.

Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, I gaze serenely at South Mountain.

院子四周围了一道竹篱。

Yuànzi sìzhōu wéi le yīdào zhú lí.

A bamboo fence surrounds the courtyard on all sides.

木篱上爬满了牵牛花。

Mù lí shàng pá mǎn le qiānniúhuā.

The wooden fence is covered with morning glories.

Tips

culture

The phrase 东篱 (eastern fence) is immortalized in a famous poem by Tao Yuanming (陶渊明, 365–427 AD): 采菊东篱下，悠然见南山 — 'Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, I gaze serenely at South Mountain.' It has become a symbol of rustic contentment.

Components

radical

⺮ zhú

bamboo (top radical form of 竹)

Top ⺮ is the bamboo-cap radical — the 6-stroke compressed form of 竹, two leaning leaves over short stems. Indexes 篱 with the bamboo / woven-stick family (笔 brush, 笼 cage, 筐 basket, 筷 chopsticks). Carries the meaning: a fence in old China was built of split bamboo lashed together, hence the radical at the top.

phonetic

离 lí

leave; separate

Bottom 离 supplies the sound — lí straight through, no drift. The 'separate' meaning of 离 does carry a faint semantic flavour: a fence is what separates one yard from the next, the boundary between in and out. 篱笆 is the standard word for a wattle fence; 樊篱 metaphorically a barrier or restraint.