(chéng lǐ) - in town, in the city in Mandarin
chénglǐTraditional: 城裡
Translation
in town, in the city
Word origin
A place noun built from 城 (chéng, a walled town, originally the wall itself) and 里 (lǐ, inside), so literally inside the walls.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 城 (chéng, walled town) + 里 (lǐ, inside)
Stroke order
城
里
Examples
。
The whole family moved into the city to live.
。
Houses in the city are far more expensive than here.
。
I am going into town tomorrow to do some shopping.
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I do not know the roads in the city very well.
，。
He works in the city and only comes back at the weekend.
城里 (chéng lǐ) means in town or in the city, and it is felt from the outside looking in: the speaker is usually somewhere smaller. Its opposites are 城外, outside the city, and 乡下, out in the countryside.
Because it is a place noun, it slots straight into the frames that take a location: 去城里, 在城里, 从城里回来. It also modifies other nouns without any fuss, so 城里人 are townspeople and 城里的生活 is city life.
The trap is that English needs a preposition and Chinese has already built one in. 里 is the "in", so 在城里面 or 在城里 both work but 在城市里 is the neutral way to say it about a city you are actually living in. Keep 城里 for the country-and-town contrast, which is where native speakers put it.
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城里: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "城里" (in town, in the city): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 50.