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Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

相応する · noun or participle which takes 'suru'

Meanings

na-adjective, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb

Describes something that matches or is fitting for a given status, situation, or person. Often used in the pattern 〜に相応しい or 〜に相応の.

Related words· 10

適切 stresses objective correctness or fitness for a purpose, while 相応 stresses fittingness for a person's status or situation.

ふさわしい is a common everyday i-adjective, while 相応 is the more formal, written na-adjective/noun with the same core meaning.

妥当 means reasonable or valid in a logical or judgmental sense, while 相応 means fitting in relation to status or scale.

適当 can mean suitably fitting like 相応, but it also commonly carries a negative sense of sloppy or careless that 相応 never has.

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お似に合あい
相応 is a formal word for general appropriateness (e.g. 年齢に相応しい), while お似合い is a casual, complimentary phrase specifically about how clothes, accessories, or couples look together.
応おう分ぶん
相応 is a general term for something being suitable or fitting, while 応分 specifically stresses a fair share of duty or cost proportional to one's status or means.
相そう当とうN3
相応 and 相当 both describe something being fitting or commensurate, but 相応 leans toward matching one's status or situation, while 相当 leans toward matching a standard or value.

Opposites

不釣り合い describes something mismatched or out of balance, the opposite of 相応 which describes a good fit or match.

相応 means suitable or proportionate, while 不相応 means unsuited or out of proportion — they are direct opposites.

Don't confuse with

相当 shares the kanji 相 and means considerable or equivalent in degree, whereas 相応 means fitting or appropriate to one's status.

対応 means correspondence or response to a situation, while 相応 means being suitably matched to one's status or circumstance.