隶 (lì) is a Chinese character meaning “to be subordinate to”. It is written from 彐 (snout radical; a three-stroke block closed on the right) and 氺 (water (form used at the bottom of a character)), and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “subordinate; held under someone else's hand”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
彐 + 氺
Overlapping structure
- 彐 snout radical; a three-stroke block closed on the right · jì unknown
- 氺 water (form used at the bottom of a character) · shuǐ unknown
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（隶 8 笔 = 彐 3 笔 + 氺 5 笔，笔序与笔形逐笔对应；氺 的竖钩贯穿全高，故为重叠而非上下）
Memory aid
A hand-shaped 彐 clamped down across a stream 氺: the water still runs, but only where the grip allows. That is 隶 — held under someone else's hand, subordinate.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 奴隶nú lìslave隶 = lì
- 隶书lì shūclerical script (the Han-dynasty calligraphic style)隶 = lì
Go deeper
All readings
subordinate to; bound servant
to be subordinate to; to be attached to; a bound servant; (in 隶书) the clerical script of the Han dynasty
附属、归属于某处；旧时指没有人身自由、供人役使的人。也指汉代形成的字体「隶书」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 奴隶nú lìslave隶 = lì
- 隶书lì shūclerical script (the Han-dynasty calligraphic style)隶 = lì
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 隶 mean?
隶 (lì) means to be subordinate to; to be attached to; a bound servant; (in 隶书) the clerical script of the Han dynasty.
How do you pronounce 隶?
It is pronounced lì.
What parts is 隶 made of?
彐 (snout radical; a three-stroke block closed on the right) and 氺 (water (form used at the bottom of a character)). The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（隶 8 笔 = 彐 3 笔 + 氺 5 笔，笔序与笔形逐笔对应；氺 的竖钩贯穿全高，故为重叠而非上下）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 隶 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 隶?
隶. 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 隶?
Common ones are 奴隶 and 隶书. The reading of 隶 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.