How to Write 荔 (lì) — Meaning “Lychee”

Imagine the grass radical 艹 as the leafy top of a lychee tree, and the three '力' (power) below as three small lychee fruits. You can think: "Grass covers three powerful little fruits — lychee!" Another trick is to chant "li-li-li" for the three '力' to remember the pinyin lì.

Start with the grass radical 艹: write two small dots, then a horizontal line across. Below that, write the component 劦, which is three '力' characters arranged left, middle, and right — each '力' has a horizontal hook followed by a left-falling stroke. A common mistake is making the three '力' too tall or uneven; keep them compact and evenly spaced so the overall character looks balanced.

Although all three have the grass radical 艹 on top, their bottom parts differ. 荔 has three '力' (lì) stacked horizontally, giving it a wide base. 兹 has the component 玄 (mysterious) below, and 芈 has 卩 (seal) at the bottom — both are single components, not three repeated ones. The meaning also differs: 荔 is only used for lychee, while 兹 means 'this' or 'now' and 芈 is a rare surname.

荔 appears almost exclusively in the word 荔枝 (lìzhī), meaning lychee — the sweet tropical fruit. It is also used in food names like 荔枝肉 (lychee pork), a classic Chinese dish. Culturally, lychees are famous from the Tang dynasty story of Emperor Xuanzong sending fast horses to deliver fresh lychees for his beloved concubine, making it a symbol of luxury and romance.

Common words containing 荔 include: 荔枝 (lì zhī) — Lychee; 荔枝干 (lì zhī gàn) — Dried lychee; 荔枝肉 (lì zhī ròu) — Lychee pulp; Lychee Pork (a dish).