HSK 5 · Verbs

利用 lìyòng “to make use of” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 利用 means

  1. to make use of
  2. to use
  3. to take advantage of
  4. to exploit
  5. to utilise

How to say 利用

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale利lì4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale用yòng4th tone, falling

利用 in a sentence

  1. 他利用这个机会提高英语水平。

    Tā lìyòng zhè ge jīhuì tígāo Yīngyǔ shuǐpíng.

    He made use of the opportunity to improve his English.

    Sentence #2032199 from Tatoeba

  2. 她利用空闲时间做布娃娃。

    Tā lìyòng kòngxián shíjiān zuò bùwáwa.

    She uses her spare time to make rag dolls.

    Sentence #2004692 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我不想被利用。

    Wǒ bùxiǎng bèi lìyòng.

    I don’t want to be used.

    Sentence #1361978 from Tatoeba

How 利用 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 利 (lì) with each of its parts in a different colour
利lìsharp
  • 禾grain · hé
  • 刂knife form of 刀 · dāo
The character 用 (yòng) drawn as one shape
用yòngto use; to make use of; to employ

用 is a single shape of 5 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

How to write 利用

利 7 strokes · 用 5 strokes

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

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

Words related to 利用

Words with 利

流利liúlì · fluent顺利shùnlì · smoothly胜利shènglì · victory有利yǒulì · advantageous利益lìyì · benefit利润lìrùn · profits利息lìxī · interest (on a loan)权利quánlì · right (an entitlement)便利biànlì · convenient锋利fēnglì · sharp (blade)

Words with 用

用yòng · to use不用búyòng · no need to有用yǒuyòng · useful常用chángyòng · commonly used信用卡xìnyòngkǎ · credit card使用shǐyòng · to use作用zuòyòng · effect应用yìngyòng · to put to use运用yùnyòng · to use实用shíyòng · practical

More words: Common Verbs

克kè · gram克服kèfú · to overcome (difficulties)控制kòngzhì · to control拦lán · to block联合liánhé · to combine流传liúchuán · to spread漏lòu · to leak轮流lúnliú · to alternate

FAQs

利用 (lìyòng) means “to make use of” or “to use”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it lìyòng: lì with a 4th tone, then yòng with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 利用 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type liyong with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 利用 from the suggestions. Typing liyong into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
利用 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.