城里

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 城里 (chéng lǐ) is composed of two characters: 城 (chéng), meaning "city" or "walled city", and 里 (lǐ), meaning "inside" or "within". Together, they literally mean "inside the city" or "within the city walls".The word 城里 is often used to refer to the urban area of a city, as opposed to the rural areas outside the city. It can also be used more broadly to refer to the city as a whole, including both the urban and rural areas.The character 城 (chéng) has a long history in Chinese, dating back to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). It was originally a pictograph of a walled city, with the walls represented by the four sides of the character and the gate represented by the opening in the middle. The character 里 (lǐ) also has a long history, dating back to the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046-256 BC). It was originally a pictograph of a field, with the four sides of the character representing the boundaries of the field and the dot in the middle representing the center of the field.The word 城里 (chéng lǐ) is a common word in modern Chinese, and it is used in a variety of contexts. It is an important word for HSK learners to know, as it is one of the most basic words for talking about cities and urban areas in Chinese.