How to Write 璃 (lí) — Meaning “Glass; colored glaze”

Imagine a king (王) leaving (离) his castle through a beautiful glass door, which shines like a jewel. The left side is the king, and the right side is 'leave' (离), so you can think: 'The king left, but his glass window remains.' This links the character to glass.

When writing 璃, make the left radical 王 narrow and the right side 离 wider. Pay special attention to the right part: it starts with a dot (亠), then a box-like shape (凵), and finally three horizontal lines inside. A common mistake is to confuse the inner strokes of 离 with those of 禽 (bird), so remember the inside has three parallel horizontals, not a complex shape.

璃 (lí) means glass or colored glaze and is used in words like 玻璃 (glass), while 琚 (jū) means a type of jade ornament and appears only in ancient names or literature. 琛 (chēn) means a precious jade or treasure and is often used in given names. Visually, 璃 has 离 on the right, 琚 has 居 (reside), and 琛 has 罙 (a variant of 深), so the right sides are clearly different.

璃 appears mainly in 玻璃 (glass) for everyday objects like windows, cups, and bottles, and in 琉璃 (colored glaze) for traditional crafts. 琉璃 has cultural importance in Chinese art, used for glazed tiles on ancient buildings, snuff bottles, and decorative objects. You will often see 璃 in product names or descriptions of shiny, translucent materials.

Common words containing 璃 include: 玻璃 (bō lí) — glass; 琉璃 (liú lí) — Colored glaze; 玻璃窗 (bō lí chuāng) — glass window.