如

Correspondence or conformity; manifests as similarity, conditionality, or active compliance.

1. Verbal: To follow, comply with, satisfy, or be in accord with (often used regarding social hierarchy or the fulfillment of a will).

2. Comparative: Like, as, or resembling. Used for literal visual comparison or metaphorical equivalence. Common construction: 如此 (rú cǐ) — "thus" or "in this manner."

3. Conditional: If, supposing, or provided that.

Generally interchangeable with 若 (ruò) in both conditional and comparative senses. While some suggest 如 leans toward actual likeness and 若 toward the hypothetical, this is often an intuition rather than a consistent rule; they should be treated as synonyms unless the text exhibits a systematic pattern of alternation.

To determine the role of the glyph in context, test it against three registers:

• Action (complying/following)
• Description of state (like/as)
• Proposition of scenario (if/supposing)

Note that the conditional use is conceptually an extension of the comparative ("Assuming the situation be like [X]..."). Translators should distinguish between a purely hypothetical condition and a supposition assumed to be true.