城里 (chéng lǐ) — inside the city; in town | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A common way to say 'in the city / inside the city', contrasted with 郊区 (suburbs) or 农村 (countryside).

noun

inside the cityin town

Examples

城里，。
Tā zhù zài chéng lǐ, měi tiān zuò dì tiě shàng bān.
He lives in the city and takes the subway to work every day.
城里。
Cóng chéng lǐ dào jiāo qū kāi chē xū yào yí gè xiǎo shí.
It takes an hour to drive from the city to the suburbs.
城里。
chéng lǐ De jiāo tōng bǐ nóng cūn fāng biàn duō le.
The transportation in the city is much more convenient than in the countryside.

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.

里lǐinside

城 means a city and 里 means inside, together giving in town.

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.

土成城

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔsoil

Sound part声符shēngfú

成

成chéng城chéng

Same sound today

城 pairs 土 (soil) with 成 as a sound part, because city walls were originally made of stamped earth.

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.

衤里裡

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.

Appears in

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