丽 meaning and stroke order
Beautiful, elegant, magnificent
How to write 丽, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
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- 7
Meaning of 丽
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- beautiful
- used in place names, notably 高麗|高丽[Gao1 li2] and 麗水|丽水[Li2 shui3]
How 丽 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Simplified form of 麗; the antlers of a deer 鹿.
Radical: 丶 (dot), shared by 7 characters on this site.
How to remember 丽
丽 is the simplified form of 麗, which showed a deer 鹿 with a pair of fine antlers on top. In 丽 you can still see those two antlers: a line 一 across the top and two matching 冂 shapes with a dot 丶 inside each, like a beautiful matching pair.
丽 (lì) rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It usually appears in words like 美丽 (měilì, beautiful), 华丽 (huálì, gorgeous) and 壮丽 (zhuànglì, magnificent), which sound more formal or written than 漂亮 (piàoliang). Example: 这里的风景很美丽。(Zhèlǐ de fēngjǐng hěn měilì.) The scenery here is very beautiful.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 丽 (lì) with 两 (liǎng, two), since both have a top line and 冂 shapes. 两 has one large 冂 with two small 人 inside, while 丽 has two separate 冂 side by side, each with a single dot.
Common words with 丽
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 美丽 | měilì | beautiful | HSK 3 |
| 华丽 | huálì | gorgeous | HSK 7-9 |
| 壮丽 | zhuànglì | magnificence; magnificent | HSK 7-9 |
| 艳丽 | yànlì | gorgeous; garish and beautiful | HSK 7-9 |
| 亮丽 | liànglì | bright and beautiful | HSK 7-9 |
| 秀丽 | xiùlì | pretty; beautiful | HSK 7-9 |
| 风和日丽 | fēnghé-rìlì | moderate wind, beautiful sun (idiom); fine sunny weather, esp. in springtime | HSK 7-9 |
| 玛格丽特 | Mǎgélìtè | margarita (cocktail) | |
| 佳丽 | jiālì | a beauty; beautiful |
丽 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 丽
Learning 丽 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 丽
How many strokes are in 丽?
丽 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 丽 mean?
丽 (lì) means beautiful, elegant, magnificent. A common word with it is 美丽 (měilì), meaning "beautiful".
How do you pronounce 丽?
丽 is pronounced lì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 丽?
The radical of 丽 is 丶, which carries the idea of "dot". Dictionaries list 丽 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 丽?
The traditional form of 丽 is 麗. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 丽 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 丽 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 丽 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
When is 丽 pronounced lí instead of lì?
The lí reading is only used in a few place names, such as 高丽 (Gāolí), an old name for Korea, and 丽水 (Líshuǐ), a city in Zhejiang. In everyday words like 美丽, it is always lì.
What is the difference between 美丽 and 漂亮?
Both mean beautiful, but 漂亮 (piàoliang) is more casual and common in speech, for people, clothes or things. 美丽 (měilì) sounds more elegant and is often used for scenery, places or in writing.