<p>The general case is discussed here: <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/q/34111/8099">How to distinguish two words the same pronunciation but different meaning (gāo ji&#224;)</a></p>
<p>For 梨 (lí) and 离 (lí) in particular, they're readily <strong>differentiated by their parts of speech</strong>.  They're unlikely to be confusable in spoken Chinese: outside of contrived examples, you can't take one and swap it for the other and get a grammatical sentence.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>梨 = &quot;pear&quot; is strictly a <em>noun</em>, so we can say 我买了几个梨 = &quot;I bought a few pears&quot;, 我喜欢吃梨 = &quot;I like to eat pears&quot;.  Also it's almost only ever going to arise when we're talking about food (perhaps there are exceptions for proper nouns).</p>
</li>
<li><p>离 by itself is usually used as a <em>preposition</em>, such as in 图书馆离地铁站很近 = &quot;the library is close to the subway station&quot;.  When used as a <em>verb</em>, it's almost always used as part of a larger word, like 我离不开他 = &quot;I can't leave him&quot; or 我远离家乡 = &quot;I'm a long way from home&quot;, or even in chengyu like 不离不弃 or 形影不离.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>And we can also simply use 梨子 instead of 梨.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-27T04:43:26.073Z
"And we can also simply use 梨子 instead of 梨" ah thanks! accepted
DialFrost
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-27T04:30:50.047Z
2022-06-27T04:30:50.047Z
Becky 李蓓
<p>How do I differentiate between &quot;pear - 梨 (lí)&quot; and “to leave - 离 (lí)”? They both sound exactly the same, so do I just follow the sentence to see which it is? Or is there another way to dissolve this ambiguity? I have searched online for this, but did not manage to find anything.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-27T03:48:04.707Z
Maybe it's the same question as [How to distinguish two words the same pronunciation but different meaning (gāo jià)](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/q/34111/8099).
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-27T03:49:14.297Z
@Becky李蓓 Ah thanks, I didn't see that, so my question is a dupe?
DialFrost
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-27T03:50:29.093Z
It depends.  If you're after 梨 (lí) vs 离 (lí) in particular, then maybe not.  But if you're after the general case, then I think it is a dupe.  (Note: duplicates are often useful to help people find answers.)
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-27T03:51:13.193Z
@Becky李蓓 I'm looking at it in particular, because I saw it in my script which I have to read out. thanks
DialFrost
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-27T07:46:47.270Z
While not a complete answer to your question, it might be worth thinking about how you can distinguish between "there", "their" and "they're" in English, since they are all pronounced the same way.
Olle Linge
<difference><pronunciation><spoken><ambiguity>
梨 (lí) vs 离 (lí)
# 梨 (lí) vs 离 (lí)

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-06-27)

How do I differentiate between "pear - 梨 (lí)" and “to leave - 离 (lí)”? They both sound exactly the same, so do I just follow the sentence to see which it is? Or is there another way to dissolve this ambiguity? I have searched online for this, but did not manage to find anything.

**Tags:** difference, pronunciation, spoken, ambiguity

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Maybe it's the same question as [How to distinguish two words the same pronunciation but different meaning (gāo jià)](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/q/34111/8099).  
> **username_0**: @Becky李蓓 Ah thanks, I didn't see that, so my question is a dupe?  
> **username_1**: It depends.  If you're after 梨 (lí) vs 离 (lí) in particular, then maybe not.  But if you're after the general case, then I think it is a dupe.  (Note: duplicates are often useful to help people find answers.)  
> **username_0**: @Becky李蓓 I'm looking at it in particular, because I saw it in my script which I have to read out. thanks  
> **username_2**: While not a complete answer to your question, it might be worth thinking about how you can distinguish between "there", "their" and "they're" in English, since they are all pronounced the same way.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-06-27. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

The general case is discussed here: [How to distinguish two words the same pronunciation but different meaning (gāo jià)](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/q/34111/8099)

For 梨 (lí) and 离 (lí) in particular, they're readily **differentiated by their parts of speech**. They're unlikely to be confusable in spoken Chinese: outside of contrived examples, you can't take one and swap it for the other and get a grammatical sentence.

* 梨 = "pear" is strictly a *noun*, so we can say 我买了几个梨 = "I bought a few pears", 我喜欢吃梨 = "I like to eat pears". Also it's almost only ever going to arise when we're talking about food (perhaps there are exceptions for proper nouns).
* 离 by itself is usually used as a *preposition*, such as in 图书馆离地铁站很近 = "the library is close to the subway station". When used as a *verb*, it's almost always used as part of a larger word, like 我离不开他 = "I can't leave him" or 我远离家乡 = "I'm a long way from home", or even in chengyu like 不离不弃 or 形影不离.

And we can also simply use 梨子 instead of 梨.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: "And we can also simply use 梨子 instead of 梨" ah thanks! accepted  

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