规律 (guīlǜ)

规律 refers to a consistent natural law, pattern, or regularity that governs the way things happen.

Meanings

[noun] Law; rule; regularity; pattern (of nature or behavior).

Example Sentences

科学家努力发现自然界的规律。 Kēxuéjiā nǔlì fāxiàn zìránjiè de guīlǜ. Scientists work hard to discover the laws of nature.

生活要有规律，按时吃饭和睡觉。 Shēnghuó yào yǒu guīlǜ, ànshí chīfàn hé shuìjiào. Life should follow a regular pattern, eating and sleeping on time.

找到学习的规律可以让你事半功倍。 Zhǎodào xuéxí de guīlǜ kěyǐ ràng nǐ shì bàn gōng bèi. Finding the patterns in learning can help you achieve twice the result with half the effort.

这个经济现象有一定的规律可循。 Zhège jīngjì xiànxiàng yǒu yīdìng de guīlǜ kě xún. This economic phenomenon has certain patterns that can be followed.

Collocations

Collocation	Meaning
发现规律	to discover patterns/laws
生活规律	regular lifestyle; routine
自然规律	law of nature
有规律	regular; having a pattern
规律性	regularity

Usage Notes

规律 focuses on inherent, often discoverable patterns in nature or behavior. It differs from 规则 (guīzé, rule/regulation), which refers to man-made rules. The adjective form 有规律 (regular, following a pattern) and its opposite 没有规律/不规律 (irregular) are very useful in daily conversation.

Memory Hook

规 means "compass/standard" and 律 means "law/rhythm" — the compass and the rhythm together create the regular law of the universe.