吏 (lì) is a Chinese character meaning “a government official, especially a lower-ranking officer”. It is written from 一 (one) and 史 (history; recorder), one above the other, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “official; clerk”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
一 + 史
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: IDS 现代字形拆分（⿱一史），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：第 1 笔为顶部长横，第 2–6 笔与「史」的五笔逐笔一致
Memory aid
History (史) with one (一) long line ruled across the top — the clerk who rules a line in the record book. Both parts are really in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 官吏guān lìgovernment officials吏 = lì
- 吏治lì zhìadministration by officials; the conduct of officials吏 = lì
Go deeper
All readings
official; clerk
a government official, especially a lower-ranking officer or clerk in imperial China
旧时政府中的官员，多指级别较低的办事人员。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 官吏guān lìgovernment officials吏 = lì
- 吏治lì zhìadministration by officials; the conduct of officials吏 = lì
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 吏 mean?
吏 (lì) means a government official, especially a lower-ranking officer or clerk in imperial China.
How do you pronounce 吏?
It is pronounced lì.
What parts is 吏 made of?
一 (one) and 史 (history; recorder), one above the other. The recorded source is: IDS 现代字形拆分（⿱一史），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：第 1 笔为顶部长横，第 2–6 笔与「史」的五笔逐笔一致. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 吏 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 吏?
口. 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 吏?
Common ones are 官吏 and 吏治. The reading of 吏 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.