励 lì — exhort
老师的话激励着我不断进步。Lǎo shī de huà jī lì zhe wǒ bú duàn jìn bù.The teacher words encourage me to keep improving.
Common words: 鼓励 (gǔ lì)、奖励 (jiǎng lì)、激励 (jī lì)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "exhort"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "exhort", including 励 (lì), 劝 (quàn), 勉 (miǎn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "exhort" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 励 (lì), 劝 (quàn), 勉 (miǎn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span lì, quàn, miǎn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 励 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 励 lìexhortUseful words: 鼓励, 奖励
- 劝 quànto advise; to urge; to try to persuade; exhortUseful words: 劝说, 劝告
- 勉 miǎnexhortUseful words: 勉强, 勉励
Common words for these 3 "exhort" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 励 (lì) — so "exhort" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
鼓励gǔ lìto encourage奖励jiǎng lìto reward; reward (as encouragement)激励jī lìto encourage; to urge; motivation; incentive劝说quàn shuōto persuade; persuasion; to advise劝告quàn gàoto advise; to urge; to exhort; exhortation劝阻quàn zǔto advise against; to dissuade勉强miǎn qiǎngto do with difficulty; to force sb to do sth; reluctant; barely enough勉励miǎn lìto encourage自勉zì miǎnto encourage oneself
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "exhort".
劝 quàn — to advise; to urge; to try to persuade; exhort
我劝他早点儿休息，别熬夜了。Wǒ quàn tā zǎo diǎnr xiū xi, bié áo yè le.I advised him to rest early and not stay up late.
Common words: 劝说 (quàn shuō)、劝告 (quàn gào)、劝阻 (quàn zǔ)
勉 miǎn — exhort
老师常常勉励我们要好好学习。Lǎo shī cháng cháng miǎn lì wǒ men yào hǎo hǎo xué xí.The teacher often encourages us to study hard.
Common words: 勉强 (miǎn qiǎng)、勉励 (miǎn lì)、自勉 (zì miǎn)
All 3 characters
Open 励、劝、勉 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.