“hé shì(合适)”  and  “shì hé(适合)” sometimes also cause trouble to Chinese learners as both words consist of exactly the same characters, the only difference is the word order. In addition, their meanings are very similar, what you need to remember is that “hé shì(合适)” is an adjective, meaning “suitable”, whereas “shì hé(适合)” is a verb, which means “to suit”. Therefore, when it comes to the usage of the words, the structures are sth. + hěn (很) + “hé shì(合适)” and sth. + (hěn 很) + “shì hé(适合)” + sb. respectively. Let’s have a look at some examples to help you understand these two structures:

English

This shirt is the right one.

Chinese (Pinyin)

zhè  jiàn  chèn shān  hěn  hé shì。

Chinese (Character)

这件衬衫很合适。

English

This shirt suits you well.

Chinese (Pinyin)

zhè  jiàn  chèn shān  hěn  shì hé  nǐ。

Chinese (Character)

这件衬衫很适合你。