Origin

The character 痢 combines the radical 疒, which marks diseases and physical ailments, with 利, which serves as a sound hint for the pronunciation "ri." The 疒 component on the left tells you this character names a sickness, while 利 guides how to pronounce it. Together they create a character that specifically names a digestive illness, building the meaning through the disease classifier and anchoring the sound through the phonetic component.