Chinese word

粒

Pronunciation

Pinyinlì

Meaning

  • measure wordgrain

Example

他在汤里撒了几粒胡椒。tā zài tāng lǐ sā le jǐ lì hú jiāo

He sprinkled a few grains of pepper into the soup.

Illustration for 粒 (grain)

More examples

土壤里埋着一粒种子。tú rǎng lǐ mái zhe yí lì zhǒng zi

One seed is buried in the soil.

Core concept

A tiny, separate unit that can be counted one by one.

Common phrases

  • 一粒种子yí lì zhǒng zi

    one seed

  • 几粒盐jǐ lì yán

    a few grains of salt

Similar words

颗kē: Counts small, round objects or other clearly separate small items.
个gè: Counts people and many small things as general individual units.
片piàn: Counts thin, flat pieces or slices.

Definition in Chinese

指单个小颗粒或颗粒状物体；作量词时表示一个颗粒的单位，常见搭配有几粒、两粒等。zhǐ dān gè xiǎo kē lì huò kē lì zhuàng wù tǐ zuò liàng cí shí biǎo shì yí gè kē lì de dān wèi cháng jiàn dā pèi yǒu jǐ lì liǎng lì děng

Word origin

粒 (lì, "grain") is a phono-semantic character formed from 米 (mǐ, "rice") + 立 (lì, "stand"), with the first component pointing to rice and the second marking the sound; its early sense was one grain.

Usage tips

  • English often leaves this small-unit count implicit, while conversational Chinese uses 粒 (lì, "grain") to make quantities of seasonings, pills, and similar items precise.

Other meanings

  • pelletnoun
  • granulenoun

Related words

  • 颗粒kē lìgranulenoun
  • 粒状lì zhuànggranularadjective

Word lists with this word