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See also: -리- and -리

(see above for verbal suffixes)

U+B9AC, 리
HANGUL SYLLABLE RI
Composition: +

[U+B9AB]
Hangul Syllables
[U+B9AD]


릿

릐 ←→ 마

Korean

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Etymology 1

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Sino-Korean word from (reason; logic).

Pronunciation 1

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Romanizations
Revised Romanization?ri
Revised Romanization (translit.)?li
McCune–Reischauer?ri
Yale Romanization?li
Dependent noun
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(ri) (hanja )

  1. (usually in the negative or the interrogative) way, reason, sense
    그럴 없다.Geureol ri-ga eopda.That can't be true.
    주인공 죽을 있겠냐?Ju'in'gong-i jugeul ri-ga itgennya?How does it make sense for the main character to die?

Pronunciation 2

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  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ɾi(ː)]
  • Phonetic hangul: [(ː)]
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
Romanizations
Revised Romanization?ri
Revised Romanization (translit.)?li
McCune–Reischauer?ri
Yale Romanization?
Noun
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South Korean
Standard Language
/(理) (i/ri)
North Korean
Standard Language
리(理) (ri)

(ri) (hanja )

  1. (East Asian philosophy, especially Confucianism) li, the underlying ordering principle of the cosmos
    Coordinate term: 기(氣) (gi, vital force engendering the cosmos)
Usage notes
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  • In the case of this specific word, the (ri) pronunciation is common even in South Korea. The reason may be to avoid homophony with other Chinese characters, given the context of East Asian philosophy where single-character Chinese terms are common.
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Sino-Korean word from (village; unit of distance).

Noun

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South Korean
Standard Language
/(里) (i/ri)
North Korean
Standard Language
리(里) (ri)

(ri) (hanja )

  1. (government) village; a Korean administrative division covering a small settlement and its surrounding hinterland.
Usage notes
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  • 이(里) (i) is the prescriptive form in the South Korean standard, but 리(里) (ri) is more common.
Coordinate terms
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Counter

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(ri) (hanja )

  1. li; East Asian unit of distance (traditionally around 393 meters in Korea)

Derived terms

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Etymology 3

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Sino-Korean word from , Middle Korean reading 리〯 () and 니〯 ().

Pronunciation

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  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ɾi(ː)]
  • Phonetic hangul: [(ː)]
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
Romanizations
Revised Romanization?Ri
Revised Romanization (translit.)?Li
McCune–Reischauer?Ri
Yale Romanization?

Proper noun

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South Korean
Standard Language
이(李) (I)
North Korean
Standard Language
리(李) (Ri)

(Ri) (hanja )

  1. North Korea standard form of 이(李) (I, Lee, the second most common Korean surname).
Usage notes
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  • Most South Koreans romanize it as "Lee", but in North Korea the common romanization is "Ri".

Etymology 4

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Sino-Korean word from / (inside).

Pronunciation

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Romanizations
Revised Romanization?ri
Revised Romanization (translit.)?li
McCune–Reischauer?ri
Yale Romanization?li

Suffix

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—리 (-ri) (hanja /)

  1. inside, within, inner
Derived terms
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Etymology 5

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Modern Korean reading of various Chinese characters, when preceded by another character in a compound. When used as the first character of a compound or in isolation, they are pronounced as (i).

Following a language reform in the mid-twentieth century, North Koreans always read them as (ri) in any position, but this was not standard before the division of Korea.

Syllable

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(ri)

References

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  • Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea (대한민국 대법원, Daehanmin'guk Daebeobwon) (2018). Table of hanja for personal names (인명용 한자표 / 人名用漢字表, Inmyeong-yong hanja-pyo), page 14. [1]
  • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전/電子字典. [2]