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兜里 (dōu lǐ) — in one's pocket; inside the pocket

Definition

兜里 (dōuli) means 'in (one's) pocket' and is used as a location phrase, often with prepositions like 在 or with 把 (e.g. 把…放在兜里). It is a spoken, everyday alternative to the more formal 口袋 (kǒudài).

noun
in one's pocketinside the pocket

Examples

  • 兜里。
    Tā dōu lǐ zhuāng le hěn duō qián.
    He has a lot of money in his pocket.
  • 兜里？
    Nǐ dōu lǐ yǒu shén me?
    What do you have in your pocket?
  • 兜里。
    Tā bǎ yào shi fàng zài dōu lǐ le.
    She put the keys in her pocket.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

兜dōupocket
里lǐinside

兜 means pocket and 里 means inside, together meaning inside a pocket.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 𠑹𠑹𠑹cover
  • 皃皃màohead

兜 combines 𠑹, a cover, with 皃, a head, to picture a helmet.

Open 兜 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 里 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (里, 里面) it is 裡; in others (公里) it is 里 or 裏.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ裡lǐ
Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

Open 里 →
Appears in
Clothing

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