披 (pī) is a Chinese character meaning “to drape over one's shoulders”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 皮 (skin; hide; leather), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to drape over the shoulders”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 皮
Left–right structure
Structure from: Unicode U+62AB and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (3 strokes 扌 + 5 strokes 皮 = 8)
Memory aid
A hand (扌) lifts a hide (皮) and lays it over your shoulders — that is 披, to drape something on. 皮 pí also hands you the sound: pī.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 披风pī fēngcloak; cape披 = pī
- 披肩pī jiānshawl; shoulder wrap披 = pī
Go deeper
All readings
to drape over the shoulders
to drape over one's shoulders; to wrap around; to put on (a coat, without using the sleeves)
把衣物搭在肩背上；覆盖在上面。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 披风pī fēngcloak; cape披 = pī
- 披肩pī jiānshawl; shoulder wrap披 = pī
Sound component
皮 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 披 mean?
披 (pī) means to drape over one's shoulders; to wrap around; to put on (a coat, without using the sleeves).
How do you pronounce 披?
It is pronounced pī.
What parts is 披 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 皮 (skin; hide; leather), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode U+62AB and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (3 strokes 扌 + 5 strokes 皮 = 8). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 披 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 披?
手. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 披?
Common ones are 披风 and 披肩. The reading of 披 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.