里

Tap the pinyin to hear it

lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Ideographic compound (会意字)

Unit of measure for farm 田 land 土

Components 田土

li · Heisig RSH #179

田 rice field + land + brains — as a component also called: computer

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

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

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
家里	jiā lǐ	home
里边	lǐ bian	inside
那里	nà li	there; that place
那里	nà li	there; that place
这里	zhè lǐ	variant of 這裡\|这里[zhe4 li3]
这里	zhè lǐ	here
哪里	nǎ lǐ	where?; somewhere; anywhere; wherever; nowhere (negative answer to question); humble expre…
哪里	nǎ lǐ	where?; somewhere; anywhere; wherever; nowhere (negative answer to question); humble expre…
里子	lǐ zi	lining; (fig.) substance (as opposed to outward appearance)
里人	lǐ rén	person from the same village, town or province; peasant (derog.); (of a school of thought …
小里小气	xiǎo li xiǎo qì	stingy; petty
市里	shì lǐ	li (Chinese unit of length equal to 500 meters)
里头	lǐ tou	inside; interior
头里	tóu lǐ	in front; in advance of the field
心里	xīn li	chest; heart; mind
行家里手	háng jiā lǐ shǒu	connoisseur; expert
里尔	Lǐ ěr	Lille (city in France)
西里尔	Xī lǐ ěr	Cyril (name); Saint Cyril, 9th century Christian missionary; Cyrillic
马里	Mǎ lǐ	Mali
道里区	Dào lǐ Qū	Daoli, a district of Harbin City 哈爾濱市\|哈尔滨市[Ha1 er3 bin1 Shi4], Heilongjiang

These characters use 里 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
里 sound part	lǐ	unit of distance equal to 0.5km; village; lane
理	lǐ	science, reason, logic; to manage
埋	mái	to bury; to conceal; to plant
厘	lí	one thousandth
狸	lí	fox
哩	li	mile
鲤	lǐ	carp
俚	lǐ	rustic, vulgar, unpolished; mean
悝	kuī	to laugh at; to pity; sad; afflicted
陧	niè	chaos, disorder
锂	lǐ	lithium
娌	lǐ	brother's wife