璃 means “lapis lazuli, glass”

り · ri

Also: glassy

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

リ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 15 strokes

The story

A jewel (王) beside 离: 璃 is the second half of 瑠璃, lapis lazuli, and of 玻璃, crystal or glass. The proverb 瑠璃も玻璃も照らせば光る says both gems shine once light falls on them: real talent shows when given its chance.

Used in 瑠璃 (ruri, lapis lazuli), 浄瑠璃 (joururi, chanted narrative of puppet theater), and 玻璃 (hari, crystal/glass, literary)

More from Shades & Dyes

• 鮮 vivid
• 染 dye
• 彩 color
• 丹 red
• 玄 dark
• 淡 pale
• 朱 vermilion
• 紺 navy blue
• 藍 indigo
• 斑 spot
• 褐 brown
• 瑠 lapis lazuli

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.