粒

• Pinyin: lì
• Hanzi breakdown: 粒 = 米 (rice/grain) + 立 (stand upright — a single grain standing)

Meaning

A measure word for small, round, or granular objects such as grains, seeds, pills, bullets, or beads.

Used with rice (一粒米), seeds, pills (一粒药), bullets (一粒子弹), sand grains, and gems. Emphasises the discreteness of individual small objects. Also used metaphorically to highlight the value of something tiny.

Examples

1. 她小心翼翼地从手心里数出三粒药丸，按时服下。 She carefully counted out three pills from her palm and took them on schedule.
2. 一粒沙子不慎落入眼睛，让他疼痛难忍，只好立即就医。 A grain of sand accidentally got into his eye, causing severe pain, so he had to see a doctor immediately.
3. 农民弯腰捡起散落在地上的每一粒稻谷，珍惜每一份收成。 The farmer bent down to pick up every grain of rice that had spilled onto the ground, cherishing every bit of the harvest.

Usage Guide

Context: daily speech, medicine, cooking, agriculture

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 医生嘱咐她每天饭后服用两粒胶囊，连续服用两周。(The doctor instructed her to take two capsules after each meal for two consecutive weeks.)
• 这袋米不小心撒了，地上散落着数不清的粒粒米粮。(This bag of rice was accidentally spilled and countless grains were scattered on the floor.)

Don't Say

• 用'粒'来量大块或片状物体 — 粒专用于细小的颗粒状物，大块物体应用'块'，片状物体应用'片'

Origin & History

粒 = 米 + 立 — a grain of rice standing upright; ancient character for a single grain particle

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal