(lǐ jiě) - to understand, to comprehend; understanding in Mandarin
lǐjiěTraditional: 理解
Translation
to understand, to comprehend; understanding
Word origin
理解 means to understand. 理 (lǐ) means principle or to put in order, with the 王/玉 'jade' radical and phonetic 里 (lǐ), originally the working of jade along its grain. 解 (jiě) means to untie or explain, an ideograph of a knife (刀) parting an ox's (牛) horn (角).
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 理 (lǐ, principle) + 解 (jiě, to untie/explain)
Stroke order
理
解
Examples
。
I understand your way of thinking.
。
This concept is hard to comprehend.
境。
I hope you can understand my situation.
。
Parents do not really understand young people.
。
Please try to understand my difficulty.
理解 (lǐ jiě) means to understand or comprehend, with a deeper sense of grasping meaning or empathising with someone's position. 理 means reason or principle and 解 means to untangle or explain. Together they suggest a reasoned, thorough understanding. It is more formal and emphatic than 明白 (míng bai, to understand clearly) or 懂 (dǒng, to understand / get it). It can also function as a noun: 表示理解 (to show understanding).
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Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 12.