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适量 (shì liàng) — moderate; appropriate in amount

Definition

Used to say a quantity of something (food, medicine, water) is 'just right — not too much, not too little.' Unlike 适度 (which describes a general degree like a pace or policy), 适量 specifically modifies an amount.

adjective
moderateappropriate in amount

Examples

  • 适量。
    Chī yào shí yào àn zhào yī shēng shuō de shì liàng fú yòng.
    When taking medicine, take the appropriate amount as directed by the doctor.
  • 适量。
    Zuò fàn shí fàng shì liàng de yán jiù kě yǐ le.
    When cooking, just put in the appropriate amount of salt.
  • 适量。
    Měi gè rén měi tiān dōu yào hē shì liàng de shuǐ.
    Everyone should drink a moderate amount of water every day.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

适shìappropriate
量liángamount

适 means appropriate and 量 means amount; the sense is moderate in amount.

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 日日rìsun
  • 東東dōngbag; east

量 has 日 (sun) over 東 (bag; east). Some explanations suggest measuring under the sun or the sun rising in the east, but the exact origin is unclear.

Open 量 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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