哩 (lī) - Li — a Chinese unit of distance equal & also used as a modal particle in dialects.

哩Tone 1

lī ｜ 10 strokes ｜ radical:

俊梁

哩 · lī

Li — a Chinese unit of distance equal to half a kilometer;

also used as a modal particle in dialects.

Li — a Chinese unit of distance equalalso used as a modal particle in dialects.

Usage highlights

Chinese milethousands of liten thousand lili as a unitdistance in liGreat Wall of Ten Thousand Li

Synonyms

  • 里— Chinese mile (same unit, different character)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The village is three li away (三里).
  • He walked for ten li (十里).
  • In Cantonese, it can be used as a sentence-final particle (你喺度做咩哩?).
  • The Great Wall is thousands of li long (万里长城).

Collocations

  • Chinese mile(里)
  • thousands of li(千里)
  • ten thousand li(万里)
  • li as a unit(里路)
  • distance in li(里程)
  • Great Wall of Ten Thousand Li(万里长城)

Idioms

  • A thousand li in a day(一日千里)
  • Seeing a thousand li ahead(目及千里)
  • Ten thousand li without a cloud(万里无云)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • The li is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, historically variable but now standardized to 500 meters.
  • Used metaphorically in idioms to express great distances or rapid progress.
  • Appears in the name 'Great Wall of Ten Thousand Li' (万里长城), symbolizing immense length and national defense.

FAQ