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Kotomora

里

ri, village, parent's home, league

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · grade 2FrequencyTop 2,000Strokes7

Readings

On'yomi

  • リ

Kun'yomi

  • さと

Nanori

  • さ

Meaning

里 centers on a settled place where people live and belong: a village, one's hometown or parent's home. The league and ri (distance unit) senses are historical extensions from the idea of a measured community area.

Most common words using 里

20 of 108
  • 里り

    Japanese league; ri; old Japanese unit of distance, approx. 3.927 km or 2.44 miles

  • 加里カリ

    potassium

  • 里親さとおや

    foster parent; foster parents

  • 千里せんり

    1000 ri; (a) long distance

  • 万里ばんり

    thousands of miles

  • 里子さとご

    foster child

  • 里山さとやま

    undeveloped woodland near populated area

  • 山里やまざと

    mountain hamlet; mountain village

  • 人里ひとざと

    village; human habitation; human settlement

  • 里帰りさとがえり

    returning home to one's parents (orig. of a married person); visiting one's parents (for a prolonged period of stay)

  • 海里かいり

    nautical mile

  • 里芋さといも

    taro (Colocasia esculenta); dasheen; eddo

  • 千里眼せんりがん

    clairvoyance; second sight

  • 郷里きょうり
    N1

    hometown; birthplace

  • お里おさと

    one's parents' home

  • 隠れ里かくれざと

    hidden village (esp. hidden retreat for nobles or refuge for soldiers of a defeated army); isolated village

  • 一里塚いちりづか

    milestone (1 ri apart)

  • 北里大学きたさとだいがく

    Kitasato University

  • 五里霧中ごりむちゅう

    totally at a loss; lose one's bearings; in a maze; in a fog; all at sea; up in the air; mystified; bewildered

  • 里人さとびと

    villager; village folk; countryfolk

Explore all words using 里 →

Study

Etymology

里 combines 田 (rice field) and 土 (earth), representing a measured area of land where people settled, which became the basis for a village or community.

Meaning mnemonic

Picture a rice field 田 on top of the earth 土: together they form a village where people live and work the land.

Reading mnemonic

For リ, imagine a village where everyone reeds rice fields together: reed -> リ, and the village thrives on the harvest.