厘 (lí) — (measure word) 0.1% or one-thousandth of a unit; used for small fractions, interest rates, or differences
Definition
厘 (lí) is a tiny unit: 0.1% (one ten-thousandth) or one-thousandth of a yuan. It appears in financial or technical writing (interest rates, precise measurements), rarely in everyday speech.
classifier
0.1% or one-thousandth of a unitused for small fractionsinterest ratesor differences
Examples
- 厘。Yín háng de cún kuǎn lì lǜ jiàng le yì lí.The bank's deposit interest rate dropped by one basis point (0.1%).
- 厘，。Liǎng zhǒng fāng àn zhī xiāng chā yì lí, kě yǐ hū lüè bú jì.The two plans differ by only a tiny fraction, negligible.
- ，厘。Tā suàn dé shí fēn jīng què, lián yì lí dōu bú chà.He calculated with extreme precision, not even a fraction off.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 釐; 厘 is its simplified writing.
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠩺
𠩺𠩺釐lí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 釐 uses 里 as its meaning part and 𠩺 as its sound part; the simplified 厘 is a later shorthand.
Appears in
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