利

Components: 禾 (grain) + 刀 (knife).

Oracle bone script (甲骨文): Already shows 禾 (a rice plant) beside 刀. Some early forms added dots around the knife (like 物) or even included hand (又) and soil (土) elements.

Interpretations:

“Cutting grain with a knife” theory – depicts harvesting rice, implying sharpness and productivity.

“Plowing the field” theory – shows turning the soil with a blade.

Both interpretations tie to agriculture, which naturally extends to the sense of “useful,” “beneficial,” “advantageous.”

Over time, 利 gained abstract meanings like benefit, profit, gain, advantage, and also sharpness (a “sharp blade” is one that “cuts well” → “useful” → “beneficial”).

In Korean, read 리 (리/이 alternation in compounds) – appears in countless Sino-Korean words like 이익(利益, profit), 유리(有利, advantageous).

In Chinese, pronounced lì, used in both literal (“benefit, profit”) and figurative (“interest, advantage”) senses.

刂 (*-i) (gugyeol abbreviation)

伊 (*-i)

次 (*-i) (semantically adapted phonogram, potential variant)