巾 (jīn): towel, general purpose cloth, women's headcovering (old)
巾 (jīn) is a Chinese character meaning “towel.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 冂 (structural) and 丨 (structural). It ranks #2224 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 巾 a curtain or towel hanging from a rack. Its radical form 巾 (cloth) appears in many related characters such as 师 (shī, teacher), 帮 (bāng, to help), 常 (cháng, always).
Definitions
- towel
- general purpose cloth
- women's headcovering (old)
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA curtain or towel hanging from a rack
Decomposition: ⿻冂丨 (layout: overlay)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 巾 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 巾
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 头巾 | tóu jīn | cloth head covering worn by men in ancient times |
| 餐巾 | cān jīn | napkin |
| 浴巾 | yù jīn | bath towel |
| 卫生巾 | wèi shēng jīn | sanitary towel |
| 餐巾纸 | cān jīn zhǐ | paper napkin |
| 手巾 | shǒu jīn | hand towel |
| 丝巾 | sī jīn | headscarf |
| 领巾 | lǐng jīn | neckcloth |
| 巾帼 | jīn guó | woman |
| 枕巾 | zhěn jīn | pillow cloth |
| 红领巾 | hóng lǐng jīn | red neckscarf |
| 方头巾 | fāng tóu jīn | headscarf |
| 黄巾起义 | huáng jīn qǐ yì | Yellow Turbans Peasant Uprising at the end of later Han (from 184) |
| 一字巾 | yī zì jīn | headband |
| 黄巾民变 | huáng jīn mín biàn | the Yellow Turbans Peasant Uprising at the end of later Han (from 184) |
巾 appears in 41 compound words: 5 as the first character, 80 as the last, and 15 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 巾 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Example Sentences
请用这条干净的毛巾擦干双手。
Qǐng yòng zhè tiáo gānjìng de máojīn cā gān shuāng shǒu.
Please use this clean towel to dry your hands.
故宫百年/看遍天下壮丽物 干隆为何迷恋巾箱本小书?
gù gōng bǎi nián kàn biàn tiān xià zhuàng lí wù gān lóng wéi hé mí liàn jīn xiāng běn xiǎo shū ?
A Century at the Forbidden City: Having Beheld the World’s Most Magnificent Sights, Why Was Emperor Qianlong So Fascinated by This Little Book in a Handbag?
...爆:探仔要瞓车房,雪柜冇餸,浴室得一条毛巾
. . . bào : tàn zǐ yāo 瞓 chē fáng , xuě guì 冇 餸 , yù shì dé yī tiáo máo jīn
...Shocking: The kid has to sleep in the garage, the fridge is empty, and there's only one towel in the bathroom
男粉买1条应援毛巾“3个人用”!边荷律翻白眼粉笑疯:自己体...
nán fěn mǎi tiáo yīng yuán máo jīn gè rén yòng ! biān hé lǜ fān bái yǎn fěn xiào fēng zì jǐ tǐ . . .
Male fans buy 1 support towel "for 3 people"! Bian Helu rolled his eyes and laughed crazy: he saw it himself...
健康主题馆/长者肌少症 拧不干毛巾是警讯
jiàn kāng zhǔ tí guǎn cháng zhě jī shǎo zhèng níng bù gān máo jīn shì jǐng xùn
Health Theme Hall/Sarcopenia in the Elderly Unable to wring out the towel is a warning sign
飯店一晚6000 大廳卻躺死蟑螂 浴巾泛黃又濕
飯 diàn yī wǎn dà 廳 卻 tǎng sǐ 蟑 螂 yù jīn fàn 黃 yòu 濕
6,000 a night in a hotel, but there are dead cockroaches in the lobby, and the bath towels are yellow and wet.
你为什么戴那条围巾？
Nǐ wèishénme dài nà tiáo wéijīn?
Why are you wearing that scarf?
汤姆在哪儿买的那个围巾呀？
Tāngmǔ zài nǎr mǎi de nàge wéijīn ya?
Where did Tom buy that scarf?
这条围巾摸起来又软又滑。
Zhè tiáo wéijīn mō qǐlai yòu ruǎn yòu huá.
This scarf feels soft and smooth.
我们的浴室只有一条浴巾。
Wǒmen de yùshì zhǐ yǒu yī tiáo yùjīn.
There's only one bath towel in our bathroom.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 巾 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 巾 with real-time feedback
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