衣 (yī) is a Chinese character meaning “clothing”. It is written from 亠 (lid) and 𧘇 (lower part of 衣 (flowing robe strokes)), one above the other, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “clothing”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亠 + 𧘇
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: Unicode U+8863; modern decomposition candidate checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry
Memory aid
A collar (亠) sits on top, and the robe (𧘇) hangs open below it — that is a piece of clothing.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 毛衣máo yīsweater; woolen jumper衣 = yī
- 大衣dà yīovercoat; topcoat衣 = yī
- 洗衣机xǐ yī jīwashing machine衣 = yī
- 衬衣chèn yīshirt; inner garment衣 = yī
Go deeper
All readings
clothing
clothing; clothes; garment worn on the upper body
穿在身上遮蔽身体的东西；衣服。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 毛衣máo yīsweater; woolen jumper衣 = yī
- 大衣dà yīovercoat; topcoat衣 = yī
- 洗衣机xǐ yī jīwashing machine衣 = yī
- 衬衣chèn yīshirt; inner garment衣 = yī
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 衣 mean?
衣 (yī) means clothing; clothes; garment worn on the upper body.
How do you pronounce 衣?
It is pronounced yī.
What parts is 衣 made of?
亠 (lid) and 𧘇 (lower part of 衣 (flowing robe strokes)), one above the other. The recorded source is: Unicode U+8863; modern decomposition candidate checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 衣 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 衣?
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 衣?
Common ones are 毛衣 and 大衣. The reading of 衣 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.