適

shì

match, comfortable; just; to go toward

Meaning

Movement: To go to or head for a specific destination; to arrive at.
Suitability and Comfort: Appropriate, suitable, or fitting (matching a requirement or standard); comfortable or satisfactory (absence of friction).
Precision: Just, precisely (marking an exact moment or degree); only, merely (restrictive).

Grammar and usage

Verb of Motion: [適 + Place] → "Go to [Place]."
Verb of State/Relation: [Subject + 適 + Object] → "To suit" or "to match."
Adjective: Describing a state of appropriateness or comfort.
Adverb: Modifying a verb or time-phrase to indicate precision or restriction.

History and forms

Readings: A traditional distinction exists between the readings //tí// (associated with movement/going) and //shì// (associated with suitability/precision).
Variants: Simplified variant U+9002.

Translator notes

Semantic Overlap: There is a common semantic slide between "going toward" and "fitting." When a passage allows for both, consider if the author is evoking the idea of reaching a desired state.
Independence: In ancient texts, 適 can function as a complete predicate for "suitability"; it does not necessarily require a complementary character (such as 合) to complete its meaning.

Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the glyph means in a particular passage.