隶

隸
lì
#1,799 most
frequent character
(bound form) a person in servitude

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

隶 first showed a hand seizing a tail, meaning 'arrest from behind.' The sense 'slave' was borrowed for its sound, and in that use it stands for 隸. 'Person of low standing' grew from 'slave.'

Drawn as: hand seizing tail

隶 as a component in other characters

meaning1 character
逮
sound3 characters
逮棣埭

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Same Characters, Different Readings

隶lì
variant of 隸|隶[li4]

Homophones

HSK 5
粒lì
grain, granule
立lì
stand, erect, stand, found, set up
力lì
ability, capability (influence)
利lì
sharp, favourable, advantage
厉lì
strict, severe
励lì
to encourage, to urge

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