How to write 宜 (yí, “suitable”)

宜 (yí), an HSK 1 character, means “suitable”, “proper” and “should”. It is HSK 1 in the 2025 syllabus, down from level 2 in the 2021 standard. It is a character whose parts combine into its meaning. Among the HSK words it appears in 便宜 (“cheap”), 不宜 (“not suitable”) and 适宜 (“suitable”). Japanese reads it gi, “best regards”, as a JLPT N1 kanji.

Pinyin: yí
Strokes: 8
HSK: 1
Radical: 宀 (“roof”)

Stroke by stroke

As a top-bottom character it splits into 宀 (“roof”, the radical), strokes 1–3; 且 (“moreover”), strokes 4–8, written the top first.

Vertical ㇑topdown and right
Dot ㇔top leftdownwards
Horizontal hook ㇖top leftrightwards → down and left
Vertical ㇑centerdownwards
Horizontal-turn ㇕centerrightwards → downwards
Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
Horizontal ㇐bottomrightwards
Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards

Names of the strokes

Japanese and Chinese

Japanese and Chinese draw all 8 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.

Japanese · KanjiVG · 8 strokes

Chinese · Make Me a Hanzi · 8 strokes

Where 宜 comes from

A memorial service 且 held in a house 宀

Trace it

Follow the numbers. Tracing help

Pinyin and meaning

Pinyin	Meanings	Traditional	In words
yí second tone	suitable; proper; should; appropriate	—	不宜适宜事宜宜人

HSK 2025 syllabus: level 1
2021 standard: level 2
HSK 2.0: in a level 2 word
Words with it: 34 in CC-CEDICT

Words with 宜

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
便宜	piányi	cheap; inexpensive HSK 1
不宜	bùyí	not suitable; inadvisable HSK 6
适宜適宜	shìyí	suitable; appropriate HSK 6
事宜	shìyí	matters; arrangements HSK 7-9
宜人	yírén	nice; pleasant HSK 7-9
宜居	yíjū	livable HSK 7-9
因地制宜	yīndì-zhìyí	(idiom) to use methods in line with local circumstances HSK 7-9
得宜	déyí	proper; appropriate
时宜時宜	shíyí	contemporary expectations
机宜機宜	jīyí	guidelines; what to do (under given circumstances)

HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).

Practice sheet

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Keep going

HSK 1, in list order: