礼
禮Li3
#924 most
frequent character
surname Li
Character breakdown
Source: Make Me a Hanzi.
礼 uses 礻 ancestral tablet for its meaning, since tablets were used in ceremonies. The 乚 part is now empty; it shortened 豊 lǐ, once the sound part. The first meaning was a ceremony, which grew to etiquette, ceremonial gifts, and gifts.
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