哲理 (zhé lǐ) — philosophical principle; profound truth (often… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

哲理 refers to a profound truth or principle drawn from philosophy, often about life or morality — a 'wisdom' rather than the academic discipline itself (that's 哲学). Closer to a guiding insight than a system of thought.

noun

philosophical principleprofound truth (often about life or morality)

Examples

哲理。
Zhè běn shū yùn hán zhe shēn kè de rén shēng zhé lǐ.
This book contains profound life philosophy.
哲理。
Tā xǐ huan sī kǎo zhé lǐ wèn tí.
He likes to think about philosophical questions.
哲理。
Zhè jù huà chōng mǎn le shēn kè de zhé lǐ.
This sentence is full of profound philosophical principle.

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.

理lǐprinciple

'哲' conveys wisdom or philosophy, and '理' conveys principle, together forming a profound truth about life.

Characters in this word

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

折口哲

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

折

折zhé哲zhé

Same sound today

The form 哲 pairs 口 (mouth) with 折, which gives the sound.

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

里

里lǐ理lǐ

Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Abstract Concepts

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