lèi
noun HSK 3 #1,532

Meanings

  1. 1 kind; type; class
  2. 2 category; sort

Examples

Zhèlèi wèntí hěn chángjiàn.
This type of problem is very common.
Rénlèi xūyào bǎohù huánjìng.
Humanity needs to protect the environment.
Nǐ xǐhuan nǎ yī lèi diànyǐng?
What type of movies do you like?

Tips

usage
works like a measure word for categories: 这类 (this type), 那类 (that type), 各类 (all types), 同类 (same type).

Components

radical
rice (radical)
Top rice radical — the indexing radical, depicting grains scattered around a cross. In simplified the stands in for the more complex of traditional . Rice grains, when sorted, fall into kinds — a natural picture of "category, type." Same radical fronts , , , .
semantic
big (semantic substitute)
Bottom — replaces traditional (head/page) under in the simplified form. here is more graphic filler than meaning-carrier, but loosely evokes "a big sorted pile" of grain. The reform aimed for easy strokes; the original "sort-by-head" image of + was sacrificed for writeability.

Stroke Order

lèi