HSK 5 · Function Words

厘米 límǐ “centimetre” in Chinese

Traditional 釐米

What 厘米 means

  1. centimetre

How to say 厘米

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale厘lí2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale米mǐ3rd tone, dipping

厘米 in a sentence

  1. 我的哥哥比我大两岁，但他却比我矮三厘米。

    Wǒ de gēge bǐ wǒ dà liǎng suì, dàn tā què bǐ wǒ ǎi sān límǐ.

    My brother is two years older than me, but three centimetres shorter.

    Sentence #1020174 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 厘米 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 厘 (lí) with each of its parts in a different colour
厘líone hundredth
  • 厂cliff · hǎnMeaning part
  • 里village · lǐSound part

厂 hints at the meaning (cliff); 里 (lǐ) hints at the sound. Compare it with lí.

The character 米 (mǐ) with each of its parts in a different colour
米mǐuncooked rice
  • 丷eight form of 八 · bā
  • 木tree · mù

Memory aidGrains of rice scattered around a stalk.

How to write 厘米

厘 9 strokes · 米 6 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

厘米 (límǐ) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 厘米 (límǐ). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 厘米

Words with 米

米饭mǐfàn · cooked rice米mǐ · rice玉米yùmǐ · corn毫米háomǐ · millimetre

More words: Function Words & Grammar

居然jūrán · unexpectedly颗kē · measure word for small round things (a pearl可见kějiàn · it can clearly be seen (that this is the case)劳驾láojià · excuse me连忙liánmáng · promptly临时línshí · temporary陆续lùxù · in turn某mǒu · some

FAQs

厘米 (límǐ) means “centimetre”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it límǐ: lí with a 2nd tone, then mǐ with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 厘米 is written 釐米. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type limi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 厘米 from the suggestions. Typing limi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
厘米 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.