砾 (lì) is a Chinese character meaning “gravel”. It is written from 石 (stone; rock) and 乐 (happy; music (simplified from 樂)), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “gravel”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
石 + 乐
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字（礫：小石也。从石樂聲）；现代简化字形按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（石5 + 乐5 = 10 笔）
Memory aid
石 on the left says stone. 乐 on the right is there for the sound (lè → lì) — picture small stones that rattle like music under your feet: 砾, gravel.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 砾石lì shígravel砾 = lì
- 瓦砾wǎ lìrubble; debris砾 = lì
Go deeper
All readings
gravel
gravel; small stones; rubble
小石块；碎石。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 砾石lì shígravel砾 = lì
- 瓦砾wǎ lìrubble; debris砾 = lì
Sound component
乐 family
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 砾 mean?
砾 (lì) means gravel; small stones; rubble.
How do you pronounce 砾?
It is pronounced lì.
What parts is 砾 made of?
石 (stone; rock) and 乐 (happy; music (simplified from 樂)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（礫：小石也。从石樂聲）；现代简化字形按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（石5 + 乐5 = 10 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 砾 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 砾?
石. 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 砾?
Common ones are 砾石 and 瓦砾. The reading of 砾 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.