离

離
lí
HSK 2
#418 most
frequent character
to leave, to part from, to be away from
verb
preposition

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

离 began as a bird net on a stick going after a bird; the bird is left out of the simplified shape. It first meant catching a bird in such a net. From that came to separate or remove from a group, to leave, and to deviate.

Drawn as: bird net on stick; bird

离 as a component in other characters

sound9 characters
璃篱漓魑螭缡蓠褵樆

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Example Sentences

我明天要离开这个城市。
wǒ míngtiān yào líkāi zhègè chéngshì 。
I will leave this city tomorrow.
他离我很远。
tā lí wǒ hěn yuǎn 。
He is far away from me.
这个价格离我的预算太高了。
zhègè jiàgé lí wǒde yùsuàn tàigāo le 。
This price is too far from my budget.

Grammar Points

HSK 2
Expressing distance with "li"离…近离…远
HSK 4
Comparing "li" and "cong"

Same Characters, Different Readings

离chī
mythical beast (archaic)

Words with similar meanings

走zǒu
to go
A more general term for moving from one place to another, can imply leaving as well.
离开líkāi
to depart
More formal than '离', specifically refers to the act of leaving a place.

Homophones

HSK 5
梨lí
pear
璃lí
colored glaze, glass
黎lí
(literary) black, dark, many

Words Starting With 离

离开lí kāi
to depart; to leave
离婚lí hūn
to divorce; divorced from (one's spouse)

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Public Lists with 离

HSK 2
All words for the HSK 2 test
Directions & Location
Above, below, left, right, inside, outside, near, far, north, south, etc.
Basic Verbs
Core action verbs like 'go,' 'come,' 'eat,' 'see,' commonly encountered in HSK.