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里面 (lǐ miàn) — inside; interior

Definition

Inside / interior — the everyday spoken word, like English 'inside' or 'in'. 里头 means the same thing but is more colloquial; 里 is usually part of another word (e.g. 里面, 里边), not used alone.

noun
insideinterior

Examples

  • 里面。
    Shū bāo lǐ miàn yǒu hěn duō shū.
    There are many books inside the schoolbag.
  • 里面。
    Fáng jiān lǐ miàn yǒu yí gè rén.
    There is a person inside the room.
  • 里面。
    Wǒ fàng zài zhuō zi lǐ miàn le.
    I put it inside the table.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

里lǐinside
面miànside

里 and 面 both point to the inside side, together meaning inside.

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 →

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

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.

Open 面 →
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