賴 meaning and stroke order
To depend on, to rely on; to bilk, to deny; poor
How to write 賴, stroke by stroke
16 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 賴
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to depend on
- to hang on in a place
- bad
- to renege (on promise)
- to disclaim
- to rat (on debts)
How 賴 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Money.
負 gives the meaning and 束 hints at the sound.
Radical: 貝 (sea shell), shared by 62 characters on this site.
How to remember 賴
賴 is built from 束 (shù, a bundle) on the left and 負 (fù, to owe or bear), which holds 貝, the shell for money, on the right. Picture someone tied in a bundle of debts they owe, so they must depend on others or try to deny the debt.
In modern Chinese 赖 (simplified form) appears mostly in words like 依赖 (yīlài, to depend on) and 信赖 (xìnlài, to trust). On its own in speech it often means to refuse to admit something or to blame someone, and 不赖 (bùlài) is a casual way to say not bad. Example: 这家饭馆真不赖。(Zhè jiā fànguǎn zhēn bùlài.) This restaurant is really not bad.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 赖 (lài) with 懒 (lǎn, lazy), which adds the heart radical 忄 and has a third tone. Remember that 赖 is fourth tone and is about depending or denying, not about being lazy.
Common words with 賴
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Characters that contain 賴
Learning 賴 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 賴
How many strokes are in 賴?
賴 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 賴 mean?
賴 (lài) means to depend on, to rely on; to bilk, to deny; poor. A common word with it is 依赖 (yīlài), meaning "to depend on; to be dependent on".
How do you pronounce 賴?
賴 is pronounced lài, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 賴?
The radical of 賴 is 貝, which carries the idea of "sea shell". Dictionaries list 賴 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 賴?
賴 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 赖, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What does 赖 mean when used as a verb by itself?
Alone it usually means to deny or go back on something, as in 他想赖账 (tā xiǎng lài zhàng), he wants to dodge the debt. It can also mean to blame, as in 别赖我 (bié lài wǒ), don't blame me, or to linger somewhere, as in 赖在床上 (lài zài chuáng shang), to stay in bed and refuse to get up.
Is 赖 a common Chinese surname?
Yes, 赖 (Lài) is a fairly common surname, especially in southern China and Taiwan. In that use it has no negative meaning.