HSK 3 · Common Objects

礼物 lǐwù “gift” in Chinese

Traditional 禮物

What 礼物 means

  1. gift
  2. present

Measure word 件 jiàn or 份 fèn · 一件礼物 yí jiàn lǐwù

How to say 礼物

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale礼lǐ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale物wù4th tone, falling

礼物 in a sentence

  1. 这是给你的礼物。

    Zhè shì gěi nǐ de lǐwù.

    This is a present for you.

    Sentence #3076593 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我想给我朋友选个礼物。

    Wǒ xiǎng gěi wǒ péngyou xuǎn ge lǐwù.

    I want to pick out a present for my friend.

    Sentence #10005769 from Tatoeba

  3. 这是我得到过的最好的礼物。

    Zhè shì wǒ dédào guo de zuì hǎo de lǐwù.

    This is the best present I’ve ever received.

    Sentence #1314480 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 礼物 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 礼 (lǐ) with each of its parts in a different colour
礼lǐgift
  • 礻sign form of 示 · shìMeaning part
  • 乚second (cyclical) form of 乙 · yǐSound part

礻 hints at the meaning (sign); 乚 (yǐ) hints at the sound. Compare it with lǐ.

The character 物 (wù) with each of its parts in a different colour
物wùthing
  • 牛cow · niúMeaning part
  • 勿must not · wùSound part

牛 hints at the meaning (cow); 勿 (wù) hints at the sound. Compare it with wù.

Memory aidAn ox 牛, which the oldest Chinese dictionary calls the largest of things, with 勿 (wù) for the sound: a thing.

How to write 礼物

礼 5 strokes · 物 8 strokes

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

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

Words related to 礼物

Words with 礼

礼貌lǐmào · courtesy礼拜天Lǐbàitiān · Sunday婚礼hūnlǐ · wedding ceremony敬礼jìnglǐ · to salute典礼diǎnlǐ · ceremony礼节lǐjié · etiquette礼尚往来lǐshàngwǎnglái · courtesy calls for reciprocity

Words with 物

动物dòngwù · animal动物园dòngwùyuán · zoo购物gòuwù · shopping植物zhíwù · plant宠物chǒngwù · house pet人物rénwù · figure食物shíwù · food物理wùlǐ · physics物质wùzhì · matter事物shìwù · thing

More words: Everyday Things

节日jiérì · holiday刻kè · quarter hour空调kōngtiáo · air conditioning筷子kuàizi · chopsticks米mǐ · rice盘子pánzi · plate瓶子píngzi · bottle伞sǎn · umbrella

In the Chinese zodiac

牛niú · Year of the Ox

物 has 牛 (ox) on the left.

FAQs

礼物 (lǐwù) means “gift” or “present”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it lǐwù: lǐ with a 3rd tone, then wù with a 4th 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, 礼物 is written 禮物. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 件 (jiàn) or 份 (fèn). For example, one gift is 一件礼物 (yí jiàn lǐwù).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type liwu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 礼物 from the suggestions. Typing liwu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
礼物 is an HSK 3 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

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.