How to Write 涖 (lì) — Meaning “to arrive; to govern”

Picture a river (氵) flowing to a new location (位) — the water "arrives" at that spot. You can also imagine a leader (位) coming with a flood of authority (氵) to govern.

First write the water radical 氵 (three strokes: dot, dot, lift). Then on the right write 位: start with 亻 (slant stroke, vertical stroke), then 立 (point above, horizontal, two short dots, final horizontal). Keep the right side balanced and not too wide.

涖 uses 位 (position) on the right, while 沫 uses 末 (end) and means "foam," and 沭 uses 术 (art) and is a river name. Visually, 位 has a person radical (亻) and a standing component (立), making it distinct from 末 (with a longer top horizontal) and 术 (with a dot).

涖 is very formal and appears mostly in written or classical Chinese, such as 涖临 (to visit formally) or 涖任 (to assume office). You may encounter it in official documents or historical texts, but it is rarely used in everyday conversation.

Common words containing 涖 include: 涖临 (lì lín) — to arrive; to visit (formal); 涖任 (lì rèn) — to take up a post; 涖事 (lì shì) — to handle affairs; to attend to business.