DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

利用

Mandarin · pinyin lì yòng

to exploit
to make use of
to use
to take advantage of
to utilize

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Characters in this entry

利: lì · gains, advantage, profit, merit
用: yòng · use, employ, apply, operate; use

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · li4 yong4

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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.

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

lei6 jung6

Cantonese word readings for 利用. 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.

verb

to use; to utilise; to make use of
(often derogatory) to take advantage of; to make use of; to exploit

noun

(literary) good tool; excellent instrument

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

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