理智
lǐ zhì · HSK 6
reason
🧠⚖️ 理 principle/pattern + 智 wisdom = thinking guided by clear principles
理 originally meant the grain in jade — the natural pattern of things. 智 combines knowing (知) with sun (日). Together: wisdom aligned with natural order, not impulse.
理 — jade radical 玉/王 + village 里 (phonetic)
理 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the jade radical 王 (玉) on the left signals meaning, while 里 on the right gives the sound. It originally meant the natural veins or grain in a piece of jade, then extended to 'pattern,' 'order,' 'principle,' and finally the modern senses 'reason' and 'to manage.'