TongTong
Sign in

吉利 (jí lì) — auspicious, lucky

Definition

吉利 is an adjective for auspicious, lucky occasions or things (a date, a color, words). Compared to 幸运 (personal luck) and 吉祥 (formal/decorative, like 吉祥物), 吉利 is the everyday spoken choice.

adjective
auspiciouslucky
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，吉利。
    Guò nián de shí hou, dà jiā dōu xǐ huan shuō jí lì de huà.
    During the New Year, everyone likes to say auspicious words.
  • 吉利。
    Zhè jiā diàn kāi zhāng xuǎn le gè jí lì de rì zi.
    This shop chose an auspicious day to open.
  • 吉利。
    Hóng sè zài zhōng guó rén yǎn lǐ shì hěn jí lì de yán sè.
    Red is a very lucky color in the eyes of Chinese people.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

吉jílucky
利lìsmooth

吉 means lucky and 利 means smooth or profitable, together giving an auspicious sense.

Characters in this word

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

In the earliest forms, 吉 was drawn with a mouth-like lower part and an upper part that later became today's upper shape.

Open 吉 →

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

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

Open 利 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Chinese Culture & Customs

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.