礫 (lì) - gravel, small stones, pebbles & fragmentary material

礫Tone 4

lì ｜ 20 strokes ｜ radical:

俊梁

礫 · lì

gravel, small stones, pebbles;

fragmentary material

gravel, small stones, pebblesfragmentary material

Usage highlights

gravelsand and gravelgravel roadgravel layerpebble beachgravel pit

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • 玉— jade, precious stone
  • 寶— treasure, precious object

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The path was covered with gravel (砂礫).
  • They found volcanic pumice (浮石礫) near the crater.
  • The construction site needed crushed stone (碎石礫).
  • Glacial deposits contain various sizes of debris (冰碛礫).

Collocations

  • gravel(礫石)
  • sand and gravel(砂礫)
  • gravel road(礫石路)
  • gravel layer(礫石層)
  • pebble beach(礫灘)
  • gravel pit(礫石坑)

Idioms

  • Cast away like worthless stones(棄如敝礫)
  • Pebbles and rubble(瓦礫)
  • Jade among pebbles(礫中之玉)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • In Chinese culture, gravel represents something common, insignificant, or foundational material.
  • Used metaphorically to contrast valuable things (jade) with worthless things (gravel).
  • Appears in geological contexts describing natural formations and construction materials.

FAQ