HSK 6 · Ideas

原理 yuánlǐ “principle” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 原理 means

  1. principle
  2. theory

How to say 原理

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale原yuán2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale理lǐ3rd tone, dipping

原理 in a sentence

  1. 这个机器的原理很简单。

    Zhè ge jīqì de yuánlǐ hěn jiǎndān.

    The principle behind this machine is very simple.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 老师给我们讲了杠杆原理。

    Lǎoshī gěi wǒmen jiǎng le gànggǎn yuánlǐ.

    The teacher explained the principle of the lever to us.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 原理 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 原 (yuán) with each of its parts in a different colour
原yuánformer
  • 厂cliff · hǎnMeaning part
  • 泉spring · quánSound part

厂 hints at the meaning (cliff); 泉 (quán) hints at the sound. Compare it with yuán.

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.

How to write 原理

原 10 strokes · 理 11 strokes

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

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

Words related to 原理

Words with 原

原谅yuánliàng · to excuse原因yuányīn · cause原来yuánlái · original原料yuánliào · raw material原则yuánzé · principle原先yuánxiān · originally平原píngyuán · plain还原huányuán · to restore原始yuánshǐ · original原告yuángào · plaintiff

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

More words: Ideas & Concepts

意向yìxiàng · intention优胜劣汰yōushèngliètài · survival of the fittest优先yōuxiān · priority缘故yuángù · reason源泉yuánquán · source与日俱增yǔrìjùzēng · to grow day by day预兆yùzhào · omen再接再厉zàijiēzàilì · to keep up the good work

FAQs

原理 (yuánlǐ) means “principle” or “theory”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it yuánlǐ: yuán with a 2nd tone, then lǐ with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 原理 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yuanli with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 原理 from the suggestions. Typing yuanli into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
原理 is an HSK 6 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 written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.