Japanese symbol for “li”
離
り
Romaji: ri
li (one of the trigrams of the I Ching: fire, south)
In Japanese, li is 離, read り (ri).
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.
Meanings
- n li (one of the trigrams of the I Ching: fire, south)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “li”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 黎族 | リーぞく riizoku | Li (people) |
| 離為火 | りいか riika | li (hexagram 30 of the I Ching: fire, the clinging) |
| 長さ指示子 | ながさしじし nagasashijishi | length indicator; LI |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 距離 | きょり kyori | distance; range; interval |
| 離婚 | りこん rikon | divorce |
| 分離 | ぶんり bunri | separation; partition; detachment |
| 離れる | はなれる hanareru | to be separated; to be apart; to be distant |
| 離脱 | りだつ ridatsu | withdrawal; secession; separation |
| 離陸 | りりく ririku | takeoff |
See also: Chinese symbol for “li”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.