利

The glyph covers a range of meanings moving from physical properties to abstract utility:

1. Physical Sharpness and Efficacy: The sharpness of a blade; by extension, the quality of efficiency or "smoothness" in a process that proceeds without obstruction.

2. Utility and Benefit: General sense of being beneficial, useful, or advantageous.

3. Economic Gain and Profit: The realization of value, ranging from general interest/stake in a matter to specific commercial profit. In Confucian contexts, this sense may carry pejorative weight when contrasted with moral duty.

4. Auspiciousness (Technical/Divinatory): In divinatory texts (e.g., Yijing), used as a technical term for "auspicious" or "favorable," describing the alignment of circumstances rather than material gain.

• Adjective: Sharp; beneficial; convenient.
• Noun: Profit; advantage; utility; personal interest/stake.
• Predicate/Verb: To be beneficial; to profit from. Often appears as an evaluative predicate ("It is advantageous that...").

• 利 vs. 義 (yì): A binary often weighing self-interest or utility (lì) against righteousness or duty (yì).
• 利 vs. 益 (yì): While both denote benefit, 益 typically implies growth, increase, or addition; 利 focuses on utility, efficiency, or a specific advantage gained in a situation.
• Note on "merit": In this context, merit refers to value or utility—the quality that makes a thing useful—rather than moral merit (typically represented by 功 or 德).

// Tang-period reading: //lì

• Semantic variant: U+25762

When determining the translation, consider the glyph's semantic progression: Sharpness → Efficiency/Smoothness → Utility/Auspiciousness → Profit/Self-interest.