Meaning of 离
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to leave
- to part from
- to be away from
- (in giving distances) from
- without (sth)
- independent of
- one of the Eight Trigrams 八卦[ba1 gua4], symbolizing fire
- ☲
- surname Li
- mythical beast (archaic)
How to use 离
As a verb, 离 means to leave or be apart, often in words like 离开 (líkāi) and 离婚 (líhūn). As a preposition, it gives distance from a place or time, usually with 远 (yuǎn) or 近 (jìn). Example: 我家离学校很近。 (Wǒ jiā lí xuéxiào hěn jìn.) My home is very close to the school.
Think of 离 (lí) as a creature slipping away from its cage at the bottom. The top 亠 is the lid that came off, so the thing inside has left.
Common mistake: Learners often use 从 (cóng) instead of 离 for distance, saying 我家从学校很近, which is wrong. Use 从 for a starting point of movement and 离 for how far apart two things are.
离 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
离 lí · to leave · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 离.
| 离开 | líkāi | to depart; to leave |
| 离婚 | líhūn | to divorce |
| 距离 | jùlí | distance; separation (in space or time); to be ... away from; to be ... from |
| 离不开 | lí bu kāi | inseparable; inevitably linked to |
| 脱离 | tuōlí | to separate oneself from; to break away from |
| 分离 | fēnlí | to separate |
| 远离 | yuǎnlí | to be far from; to keep away from |
| 撤离 | chèlí | to withdraw from; to evacuate |
| 隔离 | gélí | to separate; to isolate |
| 离奇 | líqí | odd; bizarre |
| 离职 | lízhí | to leave one's job temporarily (e.g. for study); to leave one's job; to resign |
| 形影不离 | xíngyǐng-bùlí | inseparable (as form and shadow) |
Questions about 离
What does 离 mean?
离 (lí) means "to leave; to part from" and is used as a verb and preposition.
How do you write 离?
离 is made of 1 character: 离 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 离 an HSK word?
Yes. 离 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 离 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 离 is written 離.
What is the word order when using 离 for distance?
The pattern is A 离 B + distance or 远/近. For example, 北京离上海很远 (Běijīng lí Shànghǎi hěn yuǎn) means Beijing is far from Shanghai.
Can 离 be used for time as well as space?
Yes. You can say 离春节还有三天 (lí Chūnjié hái yǒu sān tiān), meaning there are still three days until the Spring Festival.