礼物
lǐwù · HSK 2
gift
🎁 礼 = ceremony/courtesy + 物 = thing → a courtesy-thing = a gift
礼 carries the sense of ritual or politeness (same character as in 礼貌, manners), and 物 just means object or thing. Put them together and you get the polite object you hand over: a gift or tribute.
礼 — 示 (altar/ritual) + 乚 (simplified from 豊)
Originally 禮, showing 示 (altar) beside 豊 (a ritual vessel of grain), depicting offerings made at a shrine. The character meant religious ceremony, then broadened to social rites, courtesy, and gifts. The simplified form 礼 keeps 示 and replaces 豊 with the abbreviated 乚.
lǐ wù · HSK 3
gift
🎁 礼 = ceremony/courtesy + 物 = thing; a courtesy-thing = gift
礼 (lǐ) means ritual or courtesy, and 物 (wù) means object or thing. Together they form 'courtesy-thing', the standard word for a present given out of politeness or affection.
礼 — 示 (altar/ritual) + 乚 (simplified from 豊)
Originally 禮, showing 示 (altar) beside 豊 (a ritual vessel of grain), depicting offerings made at a shrine. The character meant religious ceremony, then broadened to social rites, courtesy, and gifts. The simplified form 礼 keeps 示 and replaces 豊 with the abbreviated 乚.