律

律 U+5F8B, 律 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5F8B ← 徊 [U+5F8A] CJK Unified Ideographs 後 → [U+5F8C]

律 U+F9D8, 律 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F9D8 ← 輪 [U+F9D7] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 慄 → [U+F9D9]

Translingual

Han character

律 (Kangxi radical 60, 彳+6, 9 strokes, cangjie input 竹人中手 (HOLQ), four-corner 2520₇, composition ⿰彳聿)

Derived characters

• 葎 嵂 箻

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 366, character 17
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 10097
• Dae Jaweon: page 687, character 11
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 821, character 1
• Unihan data for U+5F8B

• Unihan data for U+F9D8

Chinese

simp. and trad.		律

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (聿) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
筆	*prud
潷	*prud
硉	*ruːd
律	*rud
葎	*b·rud
聿	*b·lud
銉	*lud

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *rud) : semantic 彳 + phonetic 聿 (OC *b·lud).

Etymology

Perhaps from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *rus (“bone”); see there for more (Hill 2019). The original sense was "pitch pipe", and appears to have developed into the modern senses via semantic shift "pitch pipe" > "to supply a pitch" > "to tune, control" > "controlling principle" > "law".

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): lǜ (lü⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄩˋ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): nu²

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): лү (lü, II)

• Cantonese (Jyutping): leot⁶
• Gan (Wiktionary): lit⁶
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): li̍t

  (Meixian, Guangdong): lid⁶ / lud⁶

• Jin (Wiktionary): lyeh⁴
• Northern Min (KCR): lṳ̆
• Eastern Min (BUC): lŭk
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): lu̍t

  (Teochew, Peng'im): lug⁸

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁸liq
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): li⁶

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: lǜ
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄩˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: lyù
    • Wade–Giles: lü⁴
    • Yale: lyù
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: liuh
    • Palladius: люй (ljuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ly⁵¹/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: nu²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: lu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nu²¹/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: лү (lü, II)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ly⁵¹/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: leot⁶
    • Yale: leuht
    • Cantonese Pinyin: loet⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: lêd⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɵt̚²/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: lit⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lit̚⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: li̍t
    • Hakka Romanization System: lid
    • Hagfa Pinyim: lid⁶
    • Sinological IPA: /lit̚⁵/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: lid⁶ / lud⁶
    • Sinological IPA: /lit̚⁵/, /lut̚⁵/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: lyeh⁴
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /lyəʔ²/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: lṳ̆
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ly²⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: lŭk
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /l̃uʔ⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lu̍t
    • Tâi-lô: lu̍t
    • Phofsit Daibuun: lut
    • IPA (Xiamen): /lut̚⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /lut̚²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /lut̚¹²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /lut̚⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /lut̚⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: lug⁸
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: lu̍k
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /luk̚⁴/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁸liq
    • MiniDict: lih^入
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁵liq
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /liɪʔ¹²/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: li⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /li²⁴/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 律
Mandarin	Beijing	/ly⁵¹/
	Harbin	/ly⁵³/
	Tianjin	/luei⁵³/ /ly⁵³/
	Jinan	/ly²¹/
	Qingdao	/ly⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/ly²⁴/
	Xi'an	/ly²¹/
	Xining	/l̩ʷ⁵³/
	Yinchuan	/ly¹³/
	Lanzhou	/ly¹³/
	Ürümqi	/ly²¹³/
	Wuhan	/ny²¹³/
	Chengdu	/nu³¹/
	Guiyang	/ni²¹/
	Kunming	/li³¹/
	Nanjing	/lyʔ⁵/
	Hefei	/lyəʔ⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/lyəʔ²/
	Pingyao	/luʌʔ⁵³/
	Hohhot	/lyəʔ⁴³/ /ly⁵⁵/
Wu	Shanghai	/liɪʔ¹/
	Suzhou	/liəʔ³/
	Hangzhou	/liəʔ²/
	Wenzhou	/li²¹³/
Hui	Shexian	/ly²²/ /li²²/
	Tunxi	/li¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/li²⁴/
	Xiangtan	/ni²⁴/
Gan	Nanchang	/liʔ⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/lut̚⁵/
	Taoyuan
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/løt̚²/
	Nanning	/lyt̚²²/
	Hong Kong	/løt̚²/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/lut̚⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/luʔ⁵/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/ly²⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/luk̚⁵/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/lut̚³/

---

• Middle Chinese: lwit

Rime
Character	律
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	來 (37)
Final (韻)	術 (52)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	呂卹切
Baxter	lwit
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/liuɪt̚/
Pan Wuyun	/lʷit̚/
Shao Rongfen	/ljuet̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/lwit̚/
Li Rong	/liuĕt̚/
Wang Li	/lĭuĕt̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/li̯uĕt̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	lǜ
Expected Cantonese Reflex	leot6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[r]ut/

  (Zhengzhang): /*rud/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	律	律
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	lǜ	lǜ
Middle Chinese	‹ lwit ›	‹ lwit ›
Old Chinese	/*[r]ut/	/*[r]ut/
English	law, rule (n.)	不律 writing brush (pron. in Wú 吳 ap. Shuōwén; E. Hàn)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	律
Reading #	1/1
No.	15978
Phonetic component	聿
Rime group	物
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	律
Old Chinese	/*rud/

Definitions

律

1. statute; principle; regulation; discipline; rule; law

   法律  ―  fǎlǜ  ―  law

2. to control; to keep under control

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (律):

• → Japanese: 律(りつ) (ritsu)
• → Korean: 률(律) (ryul), 율(律) (yul)
• → Vietnamese: luật (律)

• → Manchu: ᠯᡳᠣᡳ (lioi)

Compounds

• 一律 (yīlǜ)
• 七律 (qīlǜ)
• 三一律 (sānyīlǜ)
• 不律 (bùlǜ)
• 不律頭／不律头
• 主旋律 (zhǔxuánlǜ)
• 九章律
• 乞留曲律
• 五律 (wǔlǜ)
• 他律 (tālǜ)
• 倍律
• 倍比定律
• 光出律
• 六律
• 刑律
• 勃律 (Bólǜ)
• 十二律 (shí'èrlǜ)
• 千篇一律 (qiānpiānyīlǜ)
• 協律／协律
• 卒律律
• 反律
• 嚴於律己／严于律己
• 四分律
• 因果律 (yīnguǒlǜ)
• 大清律
• 失律
• 如律令
• 定律 (dìnglǜ)
• 平均律 (píngjūnlǜ)
• 底特律 (Dǐtèlǜ)
• 庫侖定律／库仑定律
• 律令 (lǜlìng)
• 律例 (lǜlì)
• 律儀／律仪
• 律切
• 律動／律动 (lǜdòng)
• 律動感／律动感
• 律動教學／律动教学
• 律呂／律吕 (lǜlǚ)
• 律呂正義／律吕正义
• 律宗 (Lǜzōng)
• 律尺
• 律己 (lǜjǐ)
• 律師／律师 (lǜshī)
• 律度
• 律律
• 律曆志／律历志
• 律條／律条
• 律法 (lǜfǎ)
• 律科
• 律藏
• 律詩／律诗 (lǜshī)
• 律賦／律赋
• 律魁
• 德律風／德律风 (délǜfēng)
• 心律 (xīnlǜ)
• 心律不整 (xīnlǜ bùzhěng)
• 必律律
• 慣性定律／惯性定律
• 戒律 (jièlǜ)
• 抱令守律
• 挾書律／挟书律
• 排中律 (páizhōnglǜ)
• 排律 (páilǜ)
• 摩西律法
• 新律
• 方頭不律／方头不律
• 旋律 (xuánlǜ)
• 時律／时律
• 曲律
• 本律
• 析律舞文
• 析律貳端／析律贰端
• 查理定律
• 格律 (gélǜ)
• 概然律
• 槓桿定律／杠杆定律
• 樂律／乐律 (yuèlǜ)
• 歐姆定律／欧姆定律 (Ōumǔ dìnglǜ)
• 法律 (fǎlǜ)
• 法律學／法律学 (fǎlǜxué)
• 法律審／法律审
• 法律漏洞
• 法律行為／法律行为
• 清規戒律／清规戒律
• 漫無紀律／漫无纪律
• 瀛奎律髓
• 玉律金科
• 矛盾律 (máodùnlǜ)
• 竽律
• 節律／节律 (jiélǜ)
• 紀律／纪律 (jìlǜ)
• 結合律／结合律 (jiéhélǜ)
• 耶律 (Yēlǜ)
• 聲律／声律
• 自律 (zìlǜ)
• 荊棘律／荆棘律
• 菲律賓／菲律宾 (Fēilǜbīn)
• 虎克定律
• 規律／规律 (guīlǜ)
• 規律性／规律性 (guīlǜxìng)
• 詞律／词律
• 詩律／诗律
• 讀律／读律
• 赤留出律
• 赫柏定律
• 足律律
• 軍律／军律
• 週期律／周期律
• 運動定律／运动定律
• 醫門法律／医门法律
• 金科玉律 (jīnkēyùlǜ)
• 音律 (yīnlǜ)
• 韻律／韵律 (yùnlǜ)
• 韻律操／韵律操
• 韻律體操／韵律体操
• 餘弦定律／余弦定律
• 鬱律／郁律
• 黃金律／黄金律

 

Japanese

Kanji

律

(Sixth grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: りち (richi, Jōyō ^†)^{←りち (riti, historical)}
• Kan-on: りつ (ritsu, Jōyō)^{←りつ (ritu, historical)}
• Nanori: たかし (takashi)、ただし (tadashi)、ただす (tadasu)、のり (nori)、ひろし (hiroshi)、おさむ (osamu)、りずむ (rizumu)、りつじ (ritsuji)

Compounds

Compounds

• 律(りっ)管(かん) (rikkan)
• 律(りっ)詩(し) (risshi, “ancient Chinese poetry verse”)
• 律(りつ)呂(りょ) (ritsuryo)
• 律(りつ)令(りょう) (ritsuryō, “historical legal code based on Confucianism”)
• 五(ご)律(りつ) (goritsu)
• 排(はい)律(りつ) (hairitsu)
• 呂(ろ)律(れつ) (roretsu, “articulation”)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
律
りつ Grade: 6
kan'on

From Middle Chinese 律 (MC lwit).

The Buddhist senses are a translation of Sanskrit विनय (vinaya, “discipline, guidance, humility”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) りつ [ríꜜtsù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɾʲit͡sɨ]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

律(りつ) • (ritsu) 

1. a law, code
2. (law, historical) a criminal code developed in ancient China that was, alongside the 令 (ryō), spread throughout East Asia especially Japan where it was further revised into the 律令 (Ritsuryō) system
3. (Buddhism) a set of rules for a monastic community
4. (Buddhism) Short for 律蔵 (Ritsuzō): the Vinaya Piṭaka, one of the Tripitaka
5. (Buddhism) Short for 律儀, 律義 (ritsugi): translation of Sanskrit संवर (saṃvara), This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
6. (music) a rhythm
7. (music) the six yang (odd-numbered) notes in the 十二律 (jūniritsu) chromatic scale

   Antonym: 呂 (ryo)

8. (music) Short for 律旋 (rissen): a seven-tone scale in gagaku, similar to the Dorian mode in the West
9. Short for 律管 (rikkan): an ancient pitch pipe that corresponds to the 十二律 (jūniritsu) chromatic scale

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 律(りっ)す (rissu), 律(りっ)する (rissuru)
• 律(りっ)旋(せん) (rissen)
• 因(いん)果(が)律(りつ) (ingaritsu, “law of causality”)
• 黄(おう)金(ごん)律(りつ) (ōgonritsu, “golden rule”)
• 可(か)換(かん)律(りつ) (kakanritsu, “commutative law”)
• 交(こう)換(かん)律(りつ) (kōkanritsu)
• 自(し)然(ぜん)律(りつ) (shizenritsu)
• 成(せい)文(ぶん)律(りつ) (seibunritsu)
• 道(どう)徳(とく)律(りつ) (dōtokuritsu)
• 不(ふ)文(ぶん)律(りつ) (fubunritsu)
• 平(へい)均(きん)律(りつ) (heikinritsu)
• 矛(む)盾(じゅん)律(りつ) (mujunritsu, “law of contradiction”)

Affix

律(りつ) • (ritsu) 

1. rule, regulation
2. law, code
3. (Buddhism) rules of discipline for a monastic community
4. (music) rhythm, meter
5. (music) yang pitch
6. a form of Chinese poetry

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 律(りつ)儀(ぎ), 律(りつ)義(ぎ) (ritsugi, “faithful, honest”)
• 律(りっ)師(し) (risshi)
• 律(りつ)動(どう) (ritsudō, “rhythmic movement”)
• 律(りっ)法(ぽう) (rippō, “Law (of Judaism), Torah”)
• 一(いち)律(りつ) (ichiritsu)
• 韻(いん)律(りつ) (inritsu)
• 音(おん)律(りつ) (onritsu, “musical tuning system”)
• 戒(かい)律(りつ) (kairitsu, “religious commandment”)
• 格(かく)律(りつ) (kakuritsu, “maxim”)
• 楽(がく)律(りつ) (gakuritsu)
• 規(き)律(りつ), 紀(き)律(りつ) (kiritsu)
• 軍(ぐん)律(りつ) (gunritsu)
• 自(じ)律(りつ) (jiritsu)
• 旋(せん)律(りつ) (senritsu, “melody”)
• 他(た)律(りつ) (taritsu)
• 調(ちょう)律(りつ) (chōritsu, “tuning”)
• 法(ほう)律(りつ) (hōritsu)
• 呂(りょ)律(りつ) (ryoritsu)

Proper noun

律(りつ) • (Ritsu) 

1. (Buddhism) Short for 律宗 (Risshū): the Risshū school of Buddhism
2. a female given name

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
律
りち Grade: 6
goon

From Middle Chinese 律 (MC lwit).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) りち [ríꜜchì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɾʲit͡ɕi]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

律(りち) • (richi) 

1. (music) a rhythm
2. (music) the six yang (odd-numbered) notes in the 十二律 (jūniritsu) chromatic scale
3. (music) Short for 律旋 (rissen): a seven-tone scale in gagaku, similar to the Dorian mode in the West

Affix

律(りち) • (richi) 

1. law, code

Derived terms

• 律(りち)儀(ぎ), 律(りち)義(ぎ) (richigi)

Korean

Hanja

律 (eumhun 법칙 률 (beopchik ryul), word-initial (South Korea) 법칙 율 (beopchik yul))

1. hanja form^? of 률/율 (“law; rule”)

Vietnamese

Han character

律: Hán Nôm readings: luật, lót, lọt, rút, rụt, sụt, suốt, trót, luốt, rọt, sốt, trốt, trút

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.