袄 (ǎo) is a Chinese character meaning “short lined or padded coat”. It is written from 衤 (clothing (left-side form)) and 夭 (young; tender), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “lined jacket”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
衤 + 夭
Left–right structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 构形核验：现代字形拆分 ⿰衤夭，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺（衤5 + 夭4 = 9 画，radStrokes 0–4 为衤）；繁体作「襖」，右侧「奥」在简化时改写为「夭」
Memory aid
The clothing radical 衤 on the left, and 夭 (young, tender) on the right: a soft, padded jacket you wrap a little one in for winter.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 棉袄mián ǎocotton-padded jacket袄 = ǎo
- 皮袄pí ǎofur-lined jacket袄 = ǎo
Go deeper
All readings
lined jacket
short lined or padded coat; jacket
有里子的上衣，多指冬天穿的夹衣或棉衣。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 棉袄mián ǎocotton-padded jacket袄 = ǎo
- 皮袄pí ǎofur-lined jacket袄 = ǎo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 袄 mean?
袄 (ǎo) means short lined or padded coat; jacket.
How do you pronounce 袄?
It is pronounced ǎo.
What parts is 袄 made of?
衤 (clothing (left-side form)) and 夭 (young; tender), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 构形核验：现代字形拆分 ⿰衤夭，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺（衤5 + 夭4 = 9 画，radStrokes 0–4 为衤）；繁体作「襖」，右侧「奥」在简化时改写为「夭」. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 袄 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 袄?
衣. 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 袄?
Common ones are 棉袄 and 皮袄. The reading of 袄 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.