梨 (lí) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

梨

lí[li2]Tone 2

pear

HSK 5

Guru Deep Dive

English · pear

Cached lesson

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Topology:Top-bottom

Strokes:11

Writing Balance Rule: The top component (木) should be slightly compressed horizontally, while the bottom component (利) provides a solid, balanced base without letting either half overwhelm the canvas.

1. Meaning

pear (the fruit)

pear tree

NounNeutral#food#fruits#plants

Sample Usage

我想吃梨。
Wǒ xiǎng chī lí.
I want to eat a pear.
秋梨膏是一种传统 A 润肺食品。
Qiūlígāo shì yī zhǒng chuántǒng rùnfèi shípǐn.
Autumn pear syrup is a traditional lung-moistening food.

2. Sound

/[li³⁵]/Tone: 35

梨

líli2

´(35)

=lí

Initial Consonant

Type: Alveolar Lateral

Sounds like: l sound as in 'lemon'

Unaspirated

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

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip pressed against the alveolar ridge behind the upper teeth.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: ee sound as in 'see'

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

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

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 starts at a mid pitch and rises sharply to the top, exactly like asking a question with 'Huh?' in English.

Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 2, it undergoes standard Tone 3-like or sandhi adjustments depending on phrasing, but as a standalone Tone 2 it rises from mid-low to high.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing Tone 2 (lí - rising) with Tone 4 (lì - falling). Ensure the voice goes up rather than down.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A rising hand gesture starting from mid-chest and moving upward to the ceiling, matching the inquisitive pitch of saying 'Really?' in English.

3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 11 strokes

4. Components

Radical 木 · Tree radical (tree, wood)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 木 (Indicates that a pear is a tree-borne fruit (made of wood/plant matter).)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 利 (original sound: li)

A pear (梨) is a juicy fruit harvested from a tree (木), and its sharp (利) sweet flavor cuts right through your thirst.

木 Tree / Plant semantic classifier at the top
利 Sharp phonetic / semantic cue at the bottom

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

9· Phonetic Root: 利 (lì)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally formed by combining 木 (tree) to denote a type of fruit tree, and 利 (sharp/favorable) to give the sound and a hint of the crisp, firm texture of the fruit.

Semantic Evolution: Has consistently referred to the pear fruit and pear trees since ancient times.

Pears have been cultivated in China for over 3,000 years, holding significant cultural value in Chinese medicine and folklore.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: リ / Kun: なし

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

리

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine climbing a wooden **tree** (**木**) to pick a crisp, **sharp**-tasting (**利**) golden **pear** (**梨**).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

利

lìsharp, advantageContains only the right-hand/bottom side without the wood (木) top.

莉

lìjasmineReplaces the wood radical with the grass radical (艹) for flowers.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

利(lì)

利 lacks the wooden tree (木) roof at the top.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我今天在超市买了一些新鲜的[___]。

Clue: lí

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the top tree radical (木) with grass radical (艹) or mixing up the tones with lì (Tone 4).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What fruit does the character 梨 represent, and what is its Pinyin?

Production: How do you write the character for 'pear' (lí) using a tree radical and another phonetic component?

梨lípear

Speed:

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