DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

勒

Mandarin · pinyin lè#

(literary) bridle; halter; headstall
to rein in
to compel; to force
(literary) to carve; to engrave
(literary) to command; to lead (an army etc)
(physics) lux (abbr. for 勒克斯 lè kè sī)

Mandarin · pinyin lēi#

to strap tightly
to bind

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

勒: lēi · strangle, tighten

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4 · le4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link19same-tone records1source reference

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

勒 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

laak6 · lak6

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

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

character · Etymology 1

(literary) bridle (headgear for a horse)
to rein in; to restrain
to compel; to force; to coerce
to halter; to headstall
(literary) to command; to lead; to lay out (forces)
(colloquial) to strap tightly; to bind tight; to strangle; to tighten
to restrict; to limit
(literary) to cut; to carve; to engrave
to compile; to bind (to make a book)
to write; to draw; to depict
to extort; to blackmail
to tantalise; to provoke
(abbreviation, alt-of) short for 勒克斯 (lèkèsī, “lux”)
(Xiamen and Zhangzhou Hokkien) to roll up one's sleeves or trousers
(Xiamen Hokkien) to use one's hand to straighten up something
(Quanzhou Hokkien) to make a pleat
a respelling of the French patronymic le

character · Etymology 2

(Northern, Wu) to be at; to be in
(Northern, Wu) at; in
(Northern, Wu) the process of; currently (used to indicate the continuous aspect)
(Northern, Wu) -ed; used to indicate the perfective aspect

character · Etymology 3

(Northern, Wu, alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 嘞 (“modal particle”)

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack