宜

宜 (Kangxi radical 40, 宀+5, 8 strokes, cangjie input 十月一 (JBM), four-corner 3010₇, composition ⿱宀且)

• 𰃓

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 284, character 3
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 7111
• Dae Jaweon: page 561, character 2
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 920, character 6
• Unihan data for U+5B9C

Historical forms of the character 宜
Shang	Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts
Oracle bone script j29132 j29133 j29134 j29135 j29136 j29137 j29138 j29139 j29140 j29141 j29142 j29143 j29144 j29145 j29146 j29147 j29148 j29149 j29150 j29151 j29152 j29153 j29154 j29155 j29156 j29157 j29158 j29159 j29160 j29161 j29162 j29163 j29164 j29165 j29166 j29167 j29168 j29169 j29170 j29171 j29172 j29173 j29174 j29175 j29176 j29177 j29178 j29179 j29180
References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including: Shuowen Jiezi (small seal), Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions), Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Originally a pictogram (象形) or ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 且 (“sacrifical altar”) + 多 (“two pieces of meat”) – two pieces of sacrificial meat placed in a sacrifical altar.

Cognate with 儀 (OC *ŋral, “ceremony; appearance”). See there for more.

宜

1. appropriate; suitable; proper

   • 主之賞罰爵祿之所加者宜，則親疏遠近賢不肖，皆盡其力而以為用矣。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     主之赏罚爵禄之所加者宜，则亲疏远近贤不肖，皆尽其力而以为用矣。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Lü Buwei, Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals, 239 BCE

     Zhǔ zhī shǎngfá juélù zhī suǒ jiā zhě yí, zé qīnshū yuǎnjìn xián bùxiào, jiē jìn qí lì ér yǐwéi yòng yǐ. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 1930, 朱自清 [Zhu Ziqing], “看花”, in 你我, 商務印書館, published 1936, page 53:

     園也不大，東牆下有三間淨室，最宜喝茶看花。 [MSC, trad.]
     园也不大，东墙下有三间净室，最宜喝茶看花。 [MSC, simp.]

     Yuán yě bù dà, dōng qiáng xià yǒu sān jiān jìngshì, zuì yí hēchá kàn huā. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. should; ought to

   宜早不宜遲／宜早不宜迟  ―  yí zǎo bùyí chí  ―  the sooner, the better

   • 誠宜開張聖聽，以光先帝遺德，恢弘志士之氣，不宜妄自菲薄，引喻失義，以塞忠諫之路也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     诚宜开张圣听，以光先帝遗德，恢弘志士之气，不宜妄自菲薄，引喻失义，以塞忠谏之路也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 227, Zhuge Liang, 出師表

     Chéng yí kāizhāng shèngtīng, yǐ guāng xiāndì yídé, huīhóng zhìshì zhī qì, bùyí wàng zì fēibó, yǐn yù shī yì, yǐ sài zhōngjiàn zhī lù yě. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. (literary) probably; seemingly

   • 怪哉！夫子有三軍之懼，而又有桑中之喜，宜將竊妻以逃者也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     怪哉！夫子有三军之惧，而又有桑中之喜，宜将窃妻以逃者也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Guài zāi! Fūzǐ yǒu sānjūn zhī jù, ér yòu yǒu sāngzhōng zhī xǐ, yí jiāng qiè qī yǐ táo zhě yě. [Pinyin]

     How strange! You have the anxiety of all the armies of the State on your mind, and yet you are as bright as if proceeding to an encounter among the mulberry trees. You ought to be stealing a marriage with some lady.

4. a surname

• “宜”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

1. best regards
2. good

• Go-on: ぎ (gi, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: ぎ (gi, Jōyō)
• Kun: よろしい (yoroshii, 宜しい); むべ (mube, 宜)

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Middle Korean readings, if any”)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ɰi]
• Phonetic hangul: [의]

Wikisource 宜 • (ui) (hangeul 의, revised ui, McCune–Reischauer ŭi)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

宜: Hán Nôm readings: nghi, ngơi, nghe

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.