里 is also the simplified spelling of 裏, 裡.
里
Meanings
- li (Chinese mile)
- 500 meters (modern)
- home
- hometown
- village
- neighborhood
- administrative unit
- lane
- alley
- a precinct
- this place
- here
- a surname
About these definitions
Source definition segments, in their original order. Characters a definition cites are shown without their Mandarin pinyin; classifier lists that CC-Canto copied from CC-CEDICT are marked Mandarin. The community dictionary is not independently verified by zimai.
Reading & tones
Schematic citation-tone diagrams from the source numbers. These are not recordings or predictions of connected speech.
Same syllable, six tones
Characters whose customary Unihan reading (kCantonese) is this syllable in each tone, chosen as in the tone atlas (2013 standard level, then the number of CC-CEDICT words they form), with CC-Canto 2017's meaning for that reading; a dash means no catalogue character has that reading. Checked syllables (-p, -t, -k) normally carry tones 1, 3 and 6. Character readings, not word readings; no frequency implied.
Written characters
Both source spellings are represented. Written membership is not an etymological or semantic claim.
Mandarin comparison · separate source entries
CC-CEDICT, the Mandarin–English dictionary, lists the same written form:
- 里 Lǐ CC-CEDICT · Mandarinsurname Li
- 里 lǐ CC-CEDICT · Mandarinli, ancient measure of length, approx. 500 m; neighborhood; ancient administrative unit of 25 families; (Tw) borough, administrative unit between the township 鎮 zhèn and neighborhood 鄰 lín levels
A separate source entry, shown for comparison. The same characters can carry different senses in Mandarin and in Cantonese; zimai does not align these senses.
CC-Canto includes this pinyin reference: li3. It does not establish a Mandarin word with the same meaning.
Look up this spelling in the Mandarin dictionary ↗Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 8 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
lei5
Cantonese word readings for 里. 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
- li (a unit of distance equal to half a kilometre in modern Mainland China)
- neighbourhood (formal or informal grouping of adjacent dwellings; the size vary according to different historical sources)
- urban village (an administrative unit in the Republic of China)
- village (an administrative unit in South Korea and North Korea)
- lane (a type of road in Hong Kong)
- a surname
- Used in transcription.
character · Etymology 2
- (Xiang) Particle indicating the word preceding it is used as an adverb.
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack