釐
few, tenth of a bu
Strokes18
Readings
On'yomi
- リ
Kun'yomi
- おさ.める
- さいわ.い
- りん
Meaning
釐 centers on a small quantity or a tiny unit: 'few' and 'tenth of a bu' both point to something minute or fractional. The meanings are narrow and do not form a broad conceptual cluster.
Most common words using 釐
Study
Etymology
The historical development of 釐 is uncertain. It appears to combine elements related to 里 and 厂 with a right-side component, but the original semantic and phonetic roles are not clearly established.
Meaning mnemonic
Inside 釐, the 里 suggests a small village or unit, and the surrounding strokes make it look like a tiny fraction being measured out. Picture a minuscule tenth of something being carefully portioned.
Reading mnemonic
For リ, imagine a tiny reed (リー) being used to measure a tenth of a bu: reed -> リ, and the reed is as thin as the small quantity 釐 represents.