礼

Tap the pinyin to hear it

gift; rite; ceremony; CL:份[fen4]; propriety; etiquette; courtesy

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

礻 meaning “spirit” + 乚 sound

Components 礻乚

ceremony · Heisig RSH #902

altar + fishhook

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
生日礼物	shēng rì lǐ wù	birthday gift
下水礼	xià shuǐ lǐ	launching ceremony
成人礼	chéng rén lǐ	coming of age ceremony
行军礼	xíng jūn lǐ	military salute
礼县	Lǐ Xiàn	Li County or Lixian, a county in Longnan City 隴南市\|陇南市[Long3 nan2 Shi4], Gansu
国礼	guó lǐ	state gift; official gift exchanged between heads of state or governments
礼教吃人	lǐ jiào chī rén	sufferings brought about by Confucian ethics
见面礼	jiàn miàn lǐ	gift given to sb when meeting them for the first time
无礼	wú lǐ	rude; rudely
节礼日	Jié lǐ rì	Boxing Day, holiday on 26th December (the day after Christmas Day) in some countries
礼金	lǐ jīn	monetary gift
行礼	xíng lǐ	to salute; to make one's salutations
礼花	lǐ huā	fireworks
礼法	lǐ fǎ	etiquette; ceremonial rites
礼物	lǐ wù	gift; present; CL:件[jian4],份[fen4]
礼数	lǐ shù	etiquette; (old) gradation of etiquette with social status
礼轻人意重	lǐ qīng rén yì zhòng	slight present but weighty meaning (idiom); It's not the present the counts, it's the thou…
多礼	duō lǐ	too polite; overcourteous
礼多人不怪	lǐ duō rén bù guài	nobody will find fault with extra courtesy (idiom); courtesy costs nothing
礼器	lǐ qì	ritual object; sacrificial vessel

Characters sharing the sound component 乚 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
乚 sound part	—	secret, hidden, mysterious; small, minute; to conceal
轧	yà	to crush, to grind; mill, roller
乩	jī	to divine
冘	yóu	to move on; doubtful
钆	gá	gadolinium