勵 (lì) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

勵

lì[li4]Tone 4

to encourage

HSK 5

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励

Guru Deep Dive

English · to encourage

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:7

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (万 variant / 厂 + 厶) is narrower, while the right component (力) is bolder and anchors the right side with its sweeping hook stroke.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 勵 contains 萬 on the left and 力 on the right. In the simplified form, the complex left element is streamlined into 厉.

1. Meaning

to encourage, to urge, to exhort

surname Li

VerbNeutralBound morpheme#action#motivation#behavior

Sample Usage

我们要互相鼓励。
wǒ men yào hù xiāng gǔ lì.
We need to encourage each other.
老师鼓励他继续努力。
lǎo shī gǔ lì tā jì xù nǔ lì.
The teacher encouraged him to keep working hard.

2. Sound

/[li⁵¹]/Tone: 51

勵

lìli4

`(51)

=lì

Initial Consonant

Type: Alveolar Lateral

Sounds like: l sound as in 'love'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Air flows freely around both sides of tongue.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge behind the upper front teeth while air flows out the sides.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: ee sound as in 'meet'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ee'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops abruptly to the bottom, matching an emphatic 'No!' or a sharp command in English speech intonation.

Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 4 syllable, it can slightly shorten its falling contour, though it remains a falling tone.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the sharp falling Tone 4 (lì) with the rising Tone 2 (lí) or dipping Tone 3 (lǐ).

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, decisive karate chop downwards from head height to waist level, reflecting the strict or urging nature of Tone 4.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (万 variant / 厂 + 厶) is narrower, while the right component (力) is bolder and anchors the right side with its sweeping hook stroke.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 勵 contains 萬 on the left and 力 on the right. In the simplified form, the complex left element is streamlined into 厉.

4. Components

Radical 力 · Power / Strength Radical (Strength, physical force, effort)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 力 (Contributes the underlying meaning of applying force or energy to motivate someone.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 厉 (original sound: lì)

The character is formed by combining 厉 (lì, severe/strict) on the left with 力 (lì, strength) on the right. True encouragement combines strict discipline (厉) with applied effort and strength (力).

厉 Provides the phonetic sound 'lì' and a nuance of strictness or severity
力 Provides the semantic meaning of strength and energy

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

3· Phonetic Root: 厲 ()

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: A later compound creation where 厉 provides the pronunciation and 力 provides the semantic field of exerting force or driving power.

Semantic Evolution: Originally denoting a sharpening stone or strict severity, it evolved to mean urging, stimulating, and encouraging someone to put forth effort.

In classical texts, it was often used interchangeably with characters meaning 'to sharpen' or 'to urge forward'.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

lệ

Mandarin Tone 4 (sharp falling) corresponds roughly to the Vietnamese nặng or sắc tone depending on historical classification, here represented by the heavy/falling sense.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: レイ (rei) / Kun: はげます (hagemasu)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

려

Sound Shift Bridge: Shared East Asian cultural root vocabulary; the initial 'l' sound is preserved across cognates.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

To **encourage** (lì) someone, you combine strict standards (**厉**) with physical **strength** and energy (**力**), pushing them forward with a sharp, forceful shout!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

励

lìto encourageBase character with power (力)

历

lìcalendar / historyUses stop/foot structure instead of force (力)

厉

lìsevere / strictThe standalone phonetic root without the strength component on the right

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

历(lì)

历 deals with passing time and history (under a cliff 厂), whereas 励 deals with exerting strength and encouragement (with 力 on the right).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

老師總是[___]我們勇敢面對睏難。

Clue: lì

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the simplified right-side element or confusing 励 with 历 due to the identical pronunciation and shared phonetic component 厉.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 励, what is its pronunciation, tone, and primary meaning of exerting force to motivate?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to encourage' (lì) using the strict phonetic part and the strength radical?

勵lìto encourage

Speed:

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