How to Write 离 (lí) — Meaning “to leave; away from; to part”

Imagine a lion (lí sounds like 'lee') that sees a dangerous trap (the 凶 part) and quickly runs away, leaving its tracks (the 禸 part) behind. The shape of the character also looks like a bird with a crest flying off.

Write the top dot and horizontal first, then the 凶 (danger) part with a vertical stroke and a folded horizontal, and finish with the bottom 禸 (animal track) section. A common mistake is making the bottom too wide or mixing up the order of the inner strokes in 凶.

The top of 离 has a 'lid' and a 'danger' shape (亠+凶), while 禹 has a 'claw' shape (爫) on top, and 禺 has a different top resembling a mask. Also, 离 means 'to leave,' but 禹 is a legendary king's name and 禺 is an ancient place name.

You often see 离 in words like 离开 (to leave), 距离 (distance), and 离婚 (divorce). Culturally, 离 is also the name of a trigram in the I Ching representing fire, but in daily life it simply means moving away from someone or something.

Common words containing 离 include: 离开 (lí kāi) — to leave; to depart; 距离 (jù lí) — distance; 离婚 (lí hūn) — divorce.