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理 — texture; grain; inner essence

texture; grain; inner essence; intrinsic order; reason; logic

Pinyin
lǐ
Strokes
11
HSK level
HSK 3
Handwriting
recognition only

How to write 理: 11 strokes

Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. The syllabus asks you to recognise this character rather than write it by hand.

理 — 11 strokes, in writing order from left to right.

Build a printable practice sheet with 理

Words with 理 in the HSK syllabus: 54

Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.

  1. 经理jīnglǐmanager; directorHSK 3
  2. 办理bànlǐto handle; to transact; to conductHSK 4
  3. 管理guǎnlǐto supervise; to manage; to administer; managementHSK 4
  4. 理发lǐfàto get a haircut; to have one's hair doneHSK 4
  5. 理解lǐjiěto comprehend; to understandHSK 4
  6. 理想lǐxiǎngan ideal; a dream; ideal; perfectHSK 4
  7. 修理xiūlǐto repair; to fix; to prune; to trim; to sort sb outHSK 4
  8. 整理zhěnglǐto arrange; to tidy up; to sort outHSK 4
  9. 处理chǔlǐto handle; to deal with; to punishHSK 5
  10. 道理dàolǐreason; argument; sense; principle; basisHSK 5
  11. 地理dìlǐgeographyHSK 5
  12. 合理hélǐrational; reasonable; sensible; fairHSK 5
  13. 理论lǐlùntheory; to argue; to take notice ofHSK 5
  14. 理由lǐyóureason; grounds; justificationHSK 5
  15. 物理wùlǐphysics; physical; relating to the material worldHSK 5
  16. 心理xīnlǐpsychology; mentalityHSK 5
  17. 代理dàilǐto act on behalf of sb in a responsible positionHSK 6
  18. 理lǐtexture; grain; inner essence; intrinsic orderHSK 6
  19. 理财lǐcáito manage wealth; to manage finances; money managementHSK 6
  20. 理科lǐkēthe sciencesHSK 6
  21. 理念lǐniànidea; concept; philosophy; theoryHSK 6
  22. 理性lǐxìngreason; rationality; rationalHSK 6
  23. 清理qīnglǐto clear up; to tidy up; to dispose ofHSK 6
  24. 原理yuánlǐprinciple; theoryHSK 6
  25. 治理zhìlǐto govern; to administer; to manage; to controlHSK 6
  26. 助理zhùlǐassistantHSK 6
  27. 总理zǒnglǐpremier; prime ministerHSK 6
  28. 按理ànlǐaccording to reason; in the ordinary course of events; normallyHSK 7–9
  29. 常理chánglǐcommon sense; conventional reasoning and moralsHSK 7–9
  30. 代理人dàilǐrénagentHSK 7–9
  31. 护理hùlǐto nurse; to care forHSK 7–9
  32. 讲理jiǎnglǐto argue; to reason with sb; to talk senseHSK 7–9
  33. 理睬lǐcǎito heed; to pay attention toHSK 7–9
  34. 理会lǐhuìto understand; to pay attention toHSK 7–9
  35. 理事lǐshìmember of council; to take care of mattersHSK 7–9
  36. 理所当然lǐsuǒdāngránas it should be by rights; proper and to be expected as a matter of courseHSK 7–9
  37. 理智lǐzhìreason; intellect; rationality; rationalHSK 7–9
  38. 理直气壮lǐzhí-qìzhuàngin the right and self-confident; bold and confident with justice on one's sideHSK 7–9
  39. 料理liàolǐto arrange; to handle; to cook; cuisineHSK 7–9
  40. 伦理lúnlǐethicsHSK 7–9

And 14 more across the higher levels — the full lists are on the level pages.

Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.