JLPT N4 kanji. Readings, meaning, and how the character is built.
理 means reason, logic. It is a JLPT N4 kanji written in 11 strokes, read り. It combines 王 (king, rule), which carries the meaning, with 里, which is there for its sound り. It appears in 料理 (cooking) and 理解 (understanding / comprehension).
理 is written in 11 strokes, in the order numbered below. Order matters: it is what makes handwriting legible, and it is how the character is looked up in a paper dictionary.
理 breaks into 2 parts.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 料理 | りょうり | cooking |
| 理解 | りかい | understanding / comprehension |
| 地理 | ちり | geography |
里 tends to carry the sound り. They carry it; they do not all mean the same thing.
| Reading | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| 里 | り | ri, village |
| 理 | り | logic, arrangement |
| 鯉 | り | carp |
| 狸 | り | tanuki, raccoon |
These use 王 or 里 too. The part keeps its job from one character to the next, which is what makes it worth learning once.
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