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厲

简厉 · 繁厲

Mandarin · pinyin lì#

strict
severe

Mandarin · pinyin Lì#

surname Li

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Characters in this entry

厲: Look up this written character
厉: lì · whetstone; grind, sharpen; whet

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4 · li4

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1character link128same-tone records

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

厲 · find source passages ↗ · 厉 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 10 senses · 3 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

laai3 · laai6 · lai6

Cantonese word readings for 厲. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character

fierce; stern
severe; strict
ferocious
(Classical) Same as 礪／砺 (lì, “whetstone; to sharpen”).
(literary) to encourage; to urge
(literary) to raise; to exert
(Cantonese) to glare
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 濿 /𪵱 (lì, “to ford”)
a surname

character

Same as 癩／癞 (lài).

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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