Chinese word

里面

Pronunciation

Pinyinlǐ miàn

Meaning

  • nouninside

Example

杯子里面有茶。bēi zi lǐ miàn yǒu chá

There is tea inside the cup.

Illustration for 里面 (inside)

More examples

包里面有很多笔。bāo lǐ miàn yǒu hěn duō bǐ

There are many pens inside the bag.

Core concept

An internal domain separated from the outside, whether it is a physical space, a group, or a person's inner world.

Common phrases

  • 书里面shū lǐ miàn

    inside the book

  • 包里面bāo lǐ miàn

    inside the bag

  • 衣服里面yī fú lǐ miàn

    inside the clothes

Similar words

里边lǐ biān: An everyday way to refer to the inside of something or a place.
里头lǐ tou: A casual spoken way to refer to the inside of something or a place.
内部nèi bù: The internal part of something, a place, or an organization, with a somewhat formal tone.

Definition in Chinese

表示物体或空间的内部位置，也可指事物的内部部分或中身。biǎo shì wù tǐ huò kōng jiān de nèi bù wèi zhì yě kě zhǐ shì wù de nèi bù bù fèn huò zhōng shēn

Word origin

里面 (lǐmiàn, "inside") is a transparent compound of 里 (lǐ, "inner area") and 面 (miàn, "side or surface"), treating an interior as an inner side.

Usage tips

  • Chinese extends this everyday word to nonphysical settings, including an organization's internal world and thoughts or feelings, where English often chooses "within" or "in" instead of "inside".

Opposites

Word lists with this word