称 chēng / chèn / chèng — balanced; to fit; well-off; suitable; to call; to praise
大家都称他为“小天才”。Dà jiā dōu chēng tā wéi “xiǎo tiān cái”.Everyone calls him a little genius.
Common words: 名称 (míng chēng)、称为 (chēng wéi)、称赞 (chēng zàn)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to fit"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to fit", including 称 (chēng / chèn / chèng), 适 (shì), 配 (pèi). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to fit" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 称 (chēng / chèn / chèng), 适 (shì), 配 (pèi) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span chēng, chèn, chèng, shì, pèi — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 称 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 称 chēng / chèn / chèngbalanced; to fit; well-off; suitable; to call; to praiseUseful words: 名称, 称为
- 适 shìto fit; to suitUseful words: 合适, 适合
- 配 pèito join; to fit; to mate; to mix; to match; to deserveUseful words: 配合, 分配
Common words for these 3 "to fit" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 称 (chēng / chèn / chèng) — so "to fit" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
名称míng chēngname (of a thing); name (of an organization)称为chēng wéito be called; to be known as; to call it "..."称赞chēng zànto praise; to commend; to compliment合适hé shìsuitable; fitting; appropriate适合shì héto fit; to suit适应shì yìngto adapt; to fit; to suit配合pèi hématching; fitting in with; compatible with; to correspond分配fēn pèito distribute; to assign; to allocate; to partition (a hard drive)支配zhī pèito control; to dominate; to allocate
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "to fit".
适 shì — to fit; to suit
这件衣服的大小很合适。Zhè jiàn yī fu de dà xiǎo hěn hé shì.The size of this piece of clothing is just right.
Common words: 合适 (hé shì)、适合 (shì hé)、适应 (shì yìng)
配 pèi — to join; to fit; to mate; to mix; to match; to deserve
这条围巾和你的大衣很配。Zhè tiáo wéi jīn hé nǐ de dà yī hěn pèi.This scarf matches your coat well.
Common words: 配合 (pèi hé)、分配 (fēn pèi)、支配 (zhī pèi)
All 3 characters
Open 称、适、配 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.