HSK 4 · Verbs

理想 lǐxiǎng “an ideal” in Chinese

Said as líxiǎng

Same in Traditional

What 理想 means

  1. an ideal
  2. a dream
  3. perfect

How to say 理想

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale理lǐ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale想xiǎng3rd tone, dipping

Said as líxiǎng. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. How tone changes work

理想 in a sentence

  1. 海滩是一个供孩子们玩乐的理想场所。

    Hǎitān shì yí ge gōng háizimen wánlè de lǐxiǎng chǎngsuǒ.

    The beach is an ideal place for children to play.

    Sentence #1873022 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 他的工作工资很高，工作时间也相当理想。

    Tā de gōngzuò gōngzī hěn gāo, gōngzuò shíjiān yě xiāngdāng lǐxiǎng.

    His job pays well, and the hours are pretty good too.

    Sentence #420966 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 理想 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 理 (lǐ) with each of its parts in a different colour
理lǐtexture
  • 王king · wángMeaning part
  • 里village · lǐSound part

王 hints at the meaning (king); 里 (lǐ) hints at the sound. Compare it with lǐ.

Memory aid王 here is jade 玉: cutting jade along its grain. 里 (lǐ) gives the sound: to put in order, reason.

The character 想 (xiǎng) with each of its parts in a different colour
想xiǎngto think
  • 相mutual · xiāngSound part
  • 心heart · xīnMeaning part

心 hints at the meaning (heart); 相 (xiāng) hints at the sound. Compare it with xiǎng.

Memory aid相 means to look at closely. Add the heart 心 and you picture something in your mind: to think.

How to write 理想

理 11 strokes · 想 13 strokes

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

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

Words related to 理想

Words with 理

经理jīnglǐ · manager理解lǐjiě · to comprehend理发lǐfà · to get a haircut修理xiūlǐ · to repair整理zhěnglǐ · to arrange管理guǎnlǐ · to supervise办理bànlǐ · to handle处理chǔlǐ · to handle合理hélǐ · rational心理xīnlǐ · psychology

Words with 想

想xiǎng · to want想到xiǎngdào · to think of感想gǎnxiǎng · impressions幻想huànxiǎng · to fantasise思想sīxiǎng · thought想念xiǎngniàn · to miss想象xiǎngxiàng · to imagine梦想mèngxiǎng · dream空想kōngxiǎng · fantasy联想liánxiǎng · to associate (ideas)

More words: Thinking & Talking

拒绝jùjué · to refuse看法kànfǎ · way of looking at a thing考虑kǎolǜ · to think over理解lǐjiě · to comprehend联系liánxì · to contact梦mèng · dream能力nénglì · capability判断pànduàn · to judge

FAQs

理想 (lǐxiǎng) means “an ideal” or “a dream”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it lǐxiǎng: lǐ with a 3rd tone, then xiǎng with a 3rd tone. In speech it sounds like líxiǎng. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 理想 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type lixiang with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 理想 from the suggestions. Typing lixiang into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
理想 is an HSK 4 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.