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里程 (lǐ chéng) — mileage (distance traveled); course, path (of development or progression)

Definition

里程 means both the literal distance traveled by a vehicle and the figurative course of development. Example 1 uses the 'mileage' sense; examples 2–3 use 'course' (人生里程, 建设里程).

noun
mileage (distance traveled)coursepath (of development or progression)

Examples

  • 里程。
    Zhè liàng chē de lǐ chéng yǐ jīng chāo guò shí wàn gōng lǐ le.
    This car's mileage has already exceeded 100,000 kilometers.
  • 里程。
    Tā de rén shēng lǐ chéng jīng lì le hěn duō kùn nan.
    The course of his life has experienced many hardships.
  • 里程。
    Zhè xiàng gōng chéng de jiàn shè lǐ chéng fēi cháng shùn lì.
    The development course of this project went very smoothly.

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lǐli
程chéngjourney

里 is a unit of distance, and 程 means journey or course, together giving mileage or path.

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.

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.

Open 里 →

Most 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
禾禾hégrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
呈
呈chéng程chéng
Same sound today

程 is made from 禾 (grain) and 呈 (pronounced chéng); the evidence gives measurements.

Open 程 →
Appears in
Units & Measurement

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