Chinese

理由

/li²¹⁴⁻²¹ joʊ̯³⁵/
reason; grounds; justification
  • HSK 3
  • TOCFL 6

Etymology graph

  • inherited
  • borrowed
  • derived
  • parts
  • meaning component
  • sound component
  • related
React Flow

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Origin

Wasei kango (和(わ)製(せい)漢(かん)語(ご)), orthographically borrowed from Japanese 理(り)由(ゆう) (riyū).

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

  • borrowedJapanese理
  • characterChinese理 “to cut and polish jade”
    • meaningChinese玉 “jade (originally nephrite, now also including jadeite)”
    • soundChinese里 “li (a unit of distance equal to half a kilometre in modern Mainland China)”
      • ideaChinese田 “farmland (Classifier: 塊／块 m c)”
      • ideaChinese土 “earth; soil”
  • characterChinese由 “cause; reason”

Sources