How to Write 郦 (lì) — Meaning “Li (a surname)”

Imagine a beautiful (丽) city (阝) called Li — so 郦 looks like 'beautiful city' but is actually a surname. You can picture a sign saying 'Welcome to Beautiful Li City' to link the shape to the name.

Write the left part 丽 first, with seven strokes including many horizontal lines — keep them evenly spaced and not too long. Then add the right radical 阝, which starts with a curved stroke and ends with a vertical line; make sure the right side is slightly lower than the left.

郦 (lì) has the left part 丽 (beautiful), while 邮 (yóu) has 由 (reason) and means 'post' or 'mail', and 邯 (hán) has 甘 (sweet) and is part of the city name Handan. Visually, the left sides are all different: 丽, 由, and 甘.

郦 is a rare Chinese surname, not a common word. You will see it in formal titles like 郦女士 (Ms. Li) or 郦老师 (Teacher Li). It is mostly used in family names and appears in historical texts, such as the famous strategist 郦食其 from the Han dynasty.

Common words containing 郦 include: 郦女士 (lì nǚ shì) — Ms. Li; 郦老师 (lì lǎo shī) — Teacher Li; 姓郦 (xìng lì) — Surname Li.