Chinese symbol for “theory”
理论
lǐ lùn
Traditional: 理論
theory; 个 (gè); to argue; to take notice of
The closest CC-CEDICT match for theory is 理论 (lǐ lùn), defined as: theory; 个 (gè); to argue; to take notice of.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “theory”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 学说 (學說) | xué shuō | theory; doctrine |
| 说 (說) | shuō | to speak; to talk; to say; to explain; to comment |
| 论 (論) | lùn | opinion; view |
| 说法 (說法) | shuō fa | way of speaking; wording |
| 理念 | lǐ niàn | idea; concept |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 理论.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 管理 | guǎn lǐ | to supervise; to manage |
| 处理 (處理) | chǔ lǐ | to handle; to deal with; to punish |
| 理解 | lǐ jiě | to comprehend; to understand |
| 总理 (總理) | zǒng lǐ | premier; prime minister |
| 理由 | lǐ yóu | reason; grounds |
| 讨论 (討論) | tǎo lùn | to discuss; to talk over |
| 无论 (無論) | wú lùn | no matter what or how; regardless of whether... |
| 评论 (評論) | píng lùn | to comment on; to discuss |
See also: Japanese symbol for “theory”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.