HSK 5 · Ideas

理由 lǐyóu “reason” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 理由 means

  1. reason
  2. grounds
  3. justification

Measure word 个 gè · 一个理由 yí ge lǐyóu

How to say 理由

  • 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 second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale由yóu2nd tone, rising

理由 in a sentence

  1. 你的理由很充分。

    Nǐ de lǐyóu hěn chōngfèn.

    Your reasons are very convincing.

    Sentence #5985452 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 他们没有理由叫我们离开。

    Tāmen méiyǒu lǐyóu jiào wǒmen líkāi.

    They had no reason to ask us to leave.

    Sentence #9419135 from Tatoeba

  3. 可以告诉我理由吗？

    Kěyǐ gàosu wǒ lǐyóu ma?

    Can you tell me the reason?

    Sentence #5072426 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 理由 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 由 (yóu) drawn as one shape
由yóuto follow

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

How to write 理由

理 11 strokes · 由 5 strokes

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

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

Words related to 理由

Words with 理

经理jīnglǐ · manager理解lǐjiě · to comprehend理想lǐxiǎng · an ideal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

Words with 由

由yóu · by由于yóuyú · due to自由zìyóu · freedom不由得bùyóude · can’t help (doing)

More words: Ideas & Concepts

结论jiélùn · conclusion精神jīngshén · spirit空间kōngjiān · space类型lèixíng · type力量lìliang · power领域lǐngyù · domain逻辑luójí · logic毛病máobìng · fault

FAQs

理由 (lǐyóu) means “reason” or “grounds”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it lǐyóu: lǐ with a 3rd tone, then yóu with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 理由 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Use 个 (gè). For example, one reason is 一个理由 (yí ge lǐyóu).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type liyou with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 理由 from the suggestions. Typing liyou into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
理由 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.