利 lì benefit
benefit; profit
How to remember 利: 禾 grain + 刂 knife = benefit. The farmer cuts the ripe grain with a sharp knife and smiles at the harvest, a whole year's benefit.
Component breakdown
利 = 禾 grain + 刂 knife
- 禾 grain
- 刂 knife
The farmer cuts the ripe grain with a sharp knife and smiles at the harvest, a whole year's benefit.
How it came to be
Grain, with a knife beside it. In the oldest forms, cut grains fall between them. A sharp blade and a harvest, so the word means both sharp and profitable.
How it is used
- Two threads: benefit/profit and smoothness. 利益 (lìyì) interests/benefit, 利润 (lìrùn) profit, 有利 (yǒulì) advantageous.
- 顺利 (shùnlì) smooth and 流利 (liúlì) fluent use the "unobstructed" shade: 说得很流利 (shuō de hěn liúlì) speaks fluently.
- 利用 (lìyòng) = make use of / exploit, which can be neutral or negative depending on context.
Characters built with 利
Words with 利
- 顺利shùnlìgo smoothlyHSK 4
- 流利liúlìfluentHSK 4
- 不利búlìunfavorableHSK 5
- 便利biànlìconvenientHSK 5
- 便利店biànlìdiànconvenience storeHSK 5
- 利润lìrùnprofitsHSK 5
- 利用lìyòngto exploitHSK 5
- 利益lìyìbenefitHSK 5
- 有利yǒulìadvantageousHSK 5
- 权利quánlìright (i.e. an entitlement to something)HSK 5
- 胜利shènglìvictoryHSK 5
- 专利zhuānlìpatentHSK 6
- 利息lìxīinterest (on a loan)HSK 6
- 福利fúlìmaterial benefitHSK 6
- 利害lìhàipros and consHSK 7
- 功利gōnglìutilityHSK 7
- 名利mínglìfame and profitHSK 7
- 失利shīlìto loseHSK 7
- 急功近利jígōng-jìnlìseeking instant benefit (idiom)HSK 7
- 水利shuǐlìwater conservancyHSK 7
- 红利hónglìbonusHSK 7
- 利弊lìbìpros and consHSK 8
- 利率lìlǜinterest rateHSK 8
- 利索lìsuonimbleHSK 8
- 吉利jílìGeely, Chinese car makeHSK 8
- 损人利己sǔnrén-lìjǐharming others for one's personal benefitHSK 8
- 暴利bàolìsudden huge profitsHSK 9
- 犀利xīlìsharpHSK 9
- 盈利yínglìprofitHSK 9
- 营利yínglìfor profitHSK 9
- 见利忘义jiànlì-wàngyìto abandon moral principles in the pursuit of profitHSK 9
- 锋利fēnglìsharp (e.g. knife blade)HSK 9
Example sentences
- 她顺利地产下了儿子。 Tā shùnlì de chǎnxiàle érzi.She safely gave birth to a boy.
- 比赛最后胜利了。 Bǐsài zuìhòu shènglì le.In the end we won the game.