里氏 (lǐ shì) — Richter (scale, referring to the earthquake mag…

Definition

noun

Richter (scale, referring to the earthquake magnitude scale)

Easily confused

里氏7.5。
Zhè cì dì zhèn de zhèn jí dá dào le lǐ shì 7. 5 jí.
This earthquake reached a magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale.
里氏9.5。
Lì shǐ shàng zuì dà de lǐ shì dì zhèn shì 9. 5 jí.
The largest Richter-scale earthquake in history was magnitude 9.5.
里氏。
Kē xué jiā yòng lǐ shì zhèn jí lái cè liáng dì zhèn qiáng dù.
Scientists use the Richter scale to measure earthquake strength.

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

里lǐRichter

里 stands for Richter, and 氏 means a family or name.

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.

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

Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 氏 is debated: one reading shows a stick with a mark on top for a clan, while others show a person bending or a tree root.