勒
lèlēi HSK7

bridle, rein in, strangle

勒 lè frequency
bridle noun
a bridle, halter, or headstall used to control a horse

他收紧了手中的勒，马儿慢慢地在集市中停了下来。

tā shōu​jǐn le shǒu zhōng de lè, mǎ r màn​màn de zài jí​shì zhōng tíng le xià​lai.

He tightened the reins in his hand, and the horse slowly came to a halt in the marketplace.

command idiom
to lead, manage, or command an army or group

将军勒兵归营，严阵以待。

jiāng​jūn lè bīng guī​yíng, yán​zhèn​yǐ​dài.

The general led his troops back to camp and stood ready for action.

engrave verb
to carve or engrave characters or patterns on stone or metal

他在泰山顶上勒石记功。

tā zài Tài Shān dǐng​shàng lè shí jì​gōng.

He had his achievements inscribed on a stone at the summit of Mount Tai.

lux measure word
the SI unit of illuminance (an abbreviation for 勒克斯 lè​kè​sī)

这种灯具的照度可以达到一千勒。

zhè zhǒng dēng​jù de zhào​dù kě​yǐ dá​dào yī​qiān lè.

The illuminance of this lamp can reach one thousand lux.

rein in verb
to stop or control a horse by pulling the reins

到了悬崖边，他急忙勒住马。

dào le xuán​yá biān, tā jí​máng lè zhù mǎ.

Reaching the edge of the cliff, he hastily reined in his horse.

force verb
to compel, coerce, or force someone to act

凶狠的债主勒迫他在三天之内必须把欠款还清。

xiōng​hěn de zhài​zhǔ lè​pò tā zài sān tiān zhī​nèi bì​xū bǎ qiàn​kuǎn huán​qīng.

The ruthless creditor coerced him into paying off the debt within three days.

勒 lēi
strap tightly verb
to strap tightly or bind with a rope or cord, often causing discomfort or leaving a mark

绳子勒得手疼。

shéng​zi lēi de shǒu téng.

The rope is so tight it hurts my hands.

Frequency
Character
Written text
966th most common 171.7 per million
Movie subtitles
881st most common 132.2 per million appears in 25% of films
Word
Movie subtitles
36.0 per million appears in 8% of films
Written text
39.7 per million

Details
HSK 3.0
Level 7
Strokes
11
Unicode
U+52D2

Sources
Definitions
CC-CEDICT
Frequency data
MTSU Chinese text computingSUBTLEX-CHBCC Corpus (BLCU)