宜

Originally a pictographic-ideographic character.

The earliest form in Oracle bone script (甲骨文) depicts:

奠祭用의 제단(且) — a sacrificial table or altar

其 위에 올려진 두 점의 고기(肉) — offerings placed on the altar

Thus the original meaning was “cooked meat offered in sacrifice.”

Evolution:

甲骨文 → 金文:

The altar form becomes stylized, and the meat pieces (多 / 肉) are shown clearly.

金文 → 小篆:

The altar shape splits and the upper cover-like form begins to resemble 宀, with 肉 elements compressed.

隸書 → 楷書 (modern form):

多(肉) + 一 merge back into a 且-like shape, producing the modern 宜.

Semantic shift through phonetic loan (假借)

Because the sacrificial offering represented “what is proper / fitting for a rite,” the character was borrowed for the abstract notion:

“appropriate,” “suitable,” “proper,” “ought to do.”

This later abstract meaning fully replaced the older “cooked sacrificial meat.”

Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「宜，所安也。」

“宜 means that which is fitting and brings harmony.”

This confirms the later, stable meaning.

Appropriateness / suitability:

適宜 (적의) — 알맞고 마땅함; appropriate; suitable

宜當 (의당) — 마땅함; proper; fitting

不宜 (불의) — 마땅하지 않음; inappropriate; improper

宜善 (의선) — 알맞고 좋음; fitting and good

Moral / ethical propriety:

合宜 (합의) — 도리에 맞음; proper; in accordance with reason

宜禮 (의례) — 예절에 마땅함; appropriate to ritual/etiquette

宜正 (의정) — 바르게 함; to make proper and correct

Classical / literary expressions:

宜行 (의행) — 마땅히 행하다; ought to act (thus)

宜速 (의속) — 마땅히 서둘러야 함; should hurry; ought to be swift

宜慎 (의신) — 마땅히 삼가야 함; should be cautious

Used in classical Korean scholarship, legal writings, and Confucian commentary.

In Confucian philosophy 宜 represents:

- what aligns with ritual propriety (禮)

- what fits moral order and circumstance

- “rightness” in context (不同時宜: what is right changes with time)

Often paired with:

當 (당) — what should be done

義 (의) — moral righteousness

仁 (인) — humaneness

宜 emphasizes practical suitability, not absolute righteousness.

《孟子·滕文公上》 (Mencius)

「父母在，不遠遊，遊必有方，宜也。」

“When one’s parents are alive, one should not travel far; and if one must, there should be direction — this is appropriate” — 宜 = “proper, fitting.”

《左傳·僖公二十三年》 (Zuo Zhuan, Duke Xi, Year 23)

「凡所宜有以濟之。」

“For all that is appropriate, one must provide support.”

《禮記·祭義》 (The Book of Rites)

「宜其所宜，哀其所哀。」

“Show fitting respect where respect is due, and grief where grief is due” — 宜 marks moral appropriateness.

《史記·樂書》 (Records of the Grand Historian)

「樂者，天地之和也；禮者，天地之序也。禮樂不宜反。」

“Music is the harmony of Heaven and Earth; ritual is their order. Ritual and music must not be used improperly” — 宜 = “must not be improper.”

These establish 宜 as a key term of Confucian ethics and ritual propriety.