累 meaning and stroke order
Tired; weary; to strain
How to write 累, stroke by stroke
11 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 累
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- tired
- weary
- to strain
- to wear out
- to work hard
- to accumulate
- to involve or implicate (Taiwan pr. [lei4])
- continuous
- repeated
- used in 累累[lei2 lei2]
- used in 累贅|累赘[lei2 zhui5] and 累墜|累坠[lei2 zhui5]
- used in 纍纍|累累[lei2 lei2]
How 累 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Simplified form of 纍; growing silk 糸 in the fields 畾; 畾 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 糸 (silk), shared by 27 characters on this site.
How to remember 累
累 shows a field 田 on top of silk thread 糸. Picture a farmer who raises silkworms in the fields all day, piling up thread until he is worn out and tired.
In everyday speech 累 (lèi) almost always means tired, and it often takes 了 or 死了 for emphasis. As lěi it means to accumulate, mostly in written words like 积累 (jīlěi) and 累计 (lěijì). Example: 我今天很累。(Wǒ jīntiān hěn lèi.) I am very tired today.
Common mistake: Learners read every 累 as lèi, but in 积累 (jīlěi) and 累积 (lěijī) it is third tone lěi, and in 累赘 (léizhui) it is second tone léi. Also do not confuse it with 素 (sù), which has a different top over the same 糸.
Common words with 累
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 积累 | jīlěi | to accumulate; accumulation | HSK 4 |
| 拖累 | tuōlěi | to encumber; to be a burden on | HSK 7-9 |
| 累积 | lěijī | to accumulate | HSK 7-9 |
| 劳累 | láolèi | tired; exhausted | HSK 7-9 |
| 累计 | lěijì | to calculate the running total; cumulative | HSK 7-9 |
| 连累 | liánlei | to implicate; to get (sb) into trouble; also pr. [lian2lei3] or [lian2lei4] | |
| 累坏 | lèihuài | to become exhausted | |
| 累赘 | léizhui | superfluous; cumbersome; burdensome; a burden; an encumbrance | |
| 伤痕累累 | shānghénlěilěi | cuts and bruises all over the body | |
| 疲累 | pílèi | tired; exhausted | |
| 受累 | shòulěi | to get dragged into; to get involved (on sb else's account) |
累 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 累
Learning 累 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 累
How many strokes are in 累?
累 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 累 mean?
累 (lèi) means tired; weary; to strain. A common word with it is 积累 (jīlěi), meaning "to accumulate; accumulation".
How do you pronounce 累?
累 is pronounced lèi, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 累?
The radical of 累 is 糸, which carries the idea of "silk". Dictionaries list 累 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 累?
The traditional form of 累 is 纍. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 累 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 累 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 累 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
What is the difference between 累 and 困 for tired?
累 (lèi) means physically or mentally worn out from effort. 困 (kùn) means sleepy. After a long run you are 累, but late at night you may simply be 困.
How do you say someone is exhausted using 累?
Common patterns are 累死了 (lèi sǐ le), literally tired to death, and 累坏了 (lèihuài le), worn out. A more formal word is 劳累 (láolèi), as in 他工作很劳累 (tā gōngzuò hěn láolèi), his work is exhausting.