劣 (liè) is a Chinese character meaning “of low quality”. It is written from 少 (few; little) and 力 (strength; power), one above the other, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “inferior; of poor quality”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
少 + 力
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: IDS ⿱少力（与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验一致：少 4 画 + 力 2 画 = 6 画）
Memory aid
Few (少) on top of strength (力): too little power to do the job well — that is what 劣 calls inferior.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 恶劣è lièvile; terrible; very bad劣 = liè
- 劣势liè shìinferior position; disadvantage劣 = liè
- 拙劣zhuō lièclumsy and inferior; crude; poorly done劣 = liè
Go deeper
All readings
inferior; bad
of low quality; inferior; bad — the opposite of 优 (excellent)
不好的；质量低的。跟「优」相对。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 恶劣è lièvile; terrible; very bad劣 = liè
- 劣势liè shìinferior position; disadvantage劣 = liè
- 拙劣zhuō lièclumsy and inferior; crude; poorly done劣 = liè
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 劣 mean?
劣 (liè) means of low quality; inferior; bad — the opposite of 优 (excellent).
How do you pronounce 劣?
It is pronounced liè.
What parts is 劣 made of?
少 (few; little) and 力 (strength; power), one above the other. The recorded source is: IDS ⿱少力（与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验一致：少 4 画 + 力 2 画 = 6 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 劣 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 劣?
力. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 劣?
Common ones are 恶劣 and 劣势. The reading of 劣 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.