适意 (shì yì) — comfortable, agreeable, enjoyable (of a feeling or situation)

Definition

Literary adjective for a feeling or situation that is 'comfortable, agreeable' — often used in written or reflective contexts rather than daily speech.

adjective
comfortableagreeableenjoyable (of a feeling or situation)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 适意。
    Zhè ge fáng jiān bù zhì dé hěn shì yì.
    This room is decorated very comfortably.
  • ，适意。
    Zài zhè yàng ān jìng de huán jìng lǐ kàn shū, zhēn shì yì.
    Reading in such a quiet environment is really enjoyable.
  • 适意。
    Tā jué de xiàn zài de shēng huó hěn shì yì.
    He feels that his current life is very agreeable.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

适shìsuit
意yìmind

适 (suit) and 意 (mind) combine to mean pleasing to one's mind.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 適; 适 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
啻
啻chì適shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 適 pairs 辶 (walking) with a sound part; its inner part was originally 啻 and was stylized into 啇. The simplified 适 is a later variant.

Open 适 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 意 →

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