place in today's Henan province
酈 is a rare kanji that refers to a historical place name in modern Henan province. It has no clear standalone meaning beyond this geographical reference.
酈 combines 麗 (likely as a phonetic component) with the right-side ⻏ (阝), which often represents a place or settlement. The character was created to write a specific place name.
The left side 麗 suggests something ornate or beautiful, and the right side ⻏ often marks a place. Picture a beautiful, ornate settlement in ancient Henan: that place is 酈.
For リ, imagine a beautiful place called Li, where the ornate 麗 component stands beside the settlement marker ⻏: Li -> リ.
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