Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced li
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced li, including 里 lǐ, 理 lǐ, 力 lì, 利 lì, 立 lì. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
li joins the initial l to the final i in one motion — say it as a single Mandarin beat with the tone over it, not as English letters in a row.
Initial l
Start the syllable on the initial l, then run straight into the final i — keep them joined instead of sounding out separate English letters.
Final i
After zh, ch, sh, r, z, c, s, this i is not the clear “ee” in see.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (里 lǐ, 理 lǐ, 力 lì, 利 lì, 立 lì) and lock in their tones. 21 common characters share the sound li, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
li turns up here with 4 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.
1st tone
Taking the 1st tone here: 哩 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 离, 丽, 黎… (5 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 里, 理, 李… (4 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 力, 利, 立… (11 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing li inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
21 common characters in this group.