礼 (lǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “courtesy”. It is written from 礻 (spirit / altar (radical form of 示)) and 乚 (bent hook), side by side, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “courtesy”
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Structure
礻 + 乚
Left–right structure
Structure from: Unicode IDS ⿰礻乚（现代字形拆分，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：礻 4 笔 + 乚 1 笔 = 5 笔）
Memory aid
The altar radical 礻 stands on the left; beside it 乚 bends low like someone bowing. A bow before the altar — that is 礼, courtesy.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 礼物lǐ wùgift; present礼 = lǐHSK 2
- 礼貌lǐ màopoliteness; good manners礼 = lǐHSK 4
- 丧礼sāng lǐfuneral rites礼 = lǐ
- 彬彬有礼bīn bīn yǒu lǐrefined and courteous; polite and well-mannered礼 = lǐspoken asbīn bīn yóu lǐ
- 敬礼jìng lǐto salute; salute礼 = lǐ
- 葬礼zàng lǐfuneral礼 = lǐ
- 送礼sòng lǐto give a gift礼 = lǐ
Go deeper
All readings
courtesy
courtesy; etiquette; ceremony; rite; a gift given as a courtesy
表示敬意的仪式和行为规范；也指表示敬意而赠送的东西。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 礼物lǐ wùgift; present礼 = lǐHSK 2
- 礼貌lǐ màopoliteness; good manners礼 = lǐHSK 4
- 丧礼sāng lǐfuneral rites礼 = lǐ
- 彬彬有礼bīn bīn yǒu lǐrefined and courteous; polite and well-mannered礼 = lǐspoken asbīn bīn yóu lǐ
- 敬礼jìng lǐto salute; salute礼 = lǐ
- 葬礼zàng lǐfuneral礼 = lǐ
- 送礼sòng lǐto give a gift礼 = lǐ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 礼 mean?
礼 (lǐ) means courtesy; etiquette; ceremony; rite; a gift given as a courtesy.
How do you pronounce 礼?
It is pronounced lǐ.
What parts is 礼 made of?
礻 (spirit / altar (radical form of 示)) and 乚 (bent hook), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode IDS ⿰礻乚（现代字形拆分，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：礻 4 笔 + 乚 1 笔 = 5 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 礼 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 礼?
示. 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 礼?
Common ones are 礼物 and 礼貌. The reading of 礼 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.