律 (lǜ) — law, rule, regulation, statute, discipline (bound form, used in compounds)
Definition
律 is a bound form: it never stands alone — it appears in compounds like 法律 (law), 规律 (pattern), 纪律 (discipline). In those compounds it carries the sense of 'rule, law, or regular pattern'.
bound form
lawruleregulationstatutediscipline (bound form, used in compounds)
Examples
- 。Xué xí fǎ lǜ hěn zhòng yào.Learning the law is very important.
- 。Shēng huó yào yǒu guī lǜ.Life should have regular patterns.
- 。Jūn duì yǒu yán gé de jì lǜ.The army has strict discipline.
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.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
彳彳chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
聿
聿yù律lǜ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
律 puts 彳 beside 聿: 彳 is the part tied to the meaning, and 聿 is the part tied to the sound.
Appears in
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