利

利 U+5229, 利 ← 刨[U+5228] CJK Unified Ideographs 刪 →[U+522A] 利 U+F9DD, 利 ← 隆[U+F9DC] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 吏 →[U+F9DE] Stroke order

利 (Kangxi radical 18, 刀+5, 7 strokes, Cangjie input 竹木中弓 (HDLN), four-corner 22900, composition ⿰禾刂)

• 俐, 唎, 娳, 悧, 浰, 猁, 梸, 琍, 脷, 䂰, 蜊, 誗, 鋓, 鯏, 𥚥, 䬆
• 鿟, 鿠, 悡, 梨, 犁, 䖽, 㴝, 𪏭, 鋫, 䱘, 䵩, 峲, 莉, 筣, 鬁, 𢈱, 痢

• り
• リ

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 138, character 19
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1932
• Dae Jaweon: page 313, character 8
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 329, character 2
• Unihan data for U+5229

• Unihan data for U+F9DD

simp. and trad. 利

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意): 禾 (“grain”) + 刀 (“knife”) – to reap grain (禾) with a knife (刀). See also the variant 𥝢, which appears on top of the character 黎.

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ri:t (“to reap, scrape, shave, cut, sever”) (STEDT, Schuessler, 2007); cognate to Mizo rîit (“to scrap with a hoe”), Gurung [script needed] (wriqba, “to scratch”), Burmese ရိတ် (rit, “to cut, reap, mow shave”).

利

1. benefit; advantage
2. profit 薄利多銷／薄利多销 ― bólìduōxiāo ― small profits but quick returns
3. (finance) interest 高利貸／高利贷 ― gāolìdài ― usury; high-interest loan
4. to benefit; to be beneficial to
5. favourable; successful
6. sharp; sharp-edge
7. (Leizhou Min, euphemistic) knife (Classifier: 把 mn-l)
8. a surname 利希慎 [Cantonese] ― lei6 hei1 san6 [Jyutping] ― Lee Hysan (Hong Kong opium merchant)
9. Used in transcription. 澳大利亞／澳大利亚 ― Àodàlìyà ― Australia 利比亞／利比亚 ― Lìbǐyà ― Libya 智利 ― Zhìlì ― Chile

Others:

• → Vietnamese: lời

利

1. used in 利市 (“red packets”)
2. (Cantonese) used in 老利 (lou5 lai6-2)

• “利”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014-

(Fourth grade kyōiku kanji)

1. profit, benefit

• Go-on: り (ri, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: り (ri, Jōyō)
• Kun: きく (kiku, 利く, Jōyō)、よい (yoi, 利い)、するどい (surudoi, 利い)、とし (toshi, 利し)

Kanji in this term 利 りGrade: 4 on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 利 (MC lijH, “profit”).

• (Tokyo) り [ríꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])[1][2]
• IPA(key): [ɾʲi]

利(り) • (ri)

1. profit, benefit, advantage

• 害(がい) (gai, “damage”)

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Middle Korean readings, if any”)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ɾi]
• Phonetic hangul: [리]

利 (eumhun 이로울 리 (iroul ri), word-initial (South Korea) 이로울 이 (iroul i))

1. hanja form? of 리 (“benefit”)

• 복리 (福利, bongni, “welfare”)
• 이익 (利益, iik, “profit”)
• 이득 (利得, ideuk, “profit”)
• 이율 (利率, iyul, “interest rate”)
• 편리 (便利, pyeolli, “convenience”)

• 刂 (*-i) (gugyeol abbreviation)
• 伊 (*-i)
• 次 (*-i) (semantically adapted phonogram, potential variant)

利 (*-i)

1. and (connecting particle for nouns)

利 (*-i) was used to denote particularly intimate connections between nouns, compared to 果 (*-kwa) which had a more general use. The particle was totally extinct by the fifteenth century, and has no known Middle Korean reflex.

The sixth-century attestation given above is the reading of the tablet by linguist Lee Seungjae, who is the only person so far to have interpreted the text. It is possible that future interpreters will analyze 次 differently.

• 果 (*-kwa, “and; with”, comitative case marker)

• 박진호 (Bak Jin-ho) (2007), “향가 해독과 국어 문법사 [Hyangga haedok-gwa gugeo munbeopsa, Hyangga interpretations and the history of Korean grammar]”, in Gugeohak, volume 51, pages 313-338
• 이승재 (Lee Seungjae) (2017), 木簡에 기록된 古代 韓國語 [Mokgan-e girokdoen Godae Han’gugeo, The Old Korean Language Inscribed on Wooden Tablets)], Ilchogak, →ISBN

利: Hán Việt readings: lợi[1][2][3] 利: Nôm readings: lời[1][2][3][4], lợi[1][2][3], rời[1][2], rơi[1], ráy[1], lì[3], rị, lệ

1. chữ Hán form of lợi (“profit”)
2. chữ Nôm form of lời (“profit; interest”)