衣 (yī): clothing
衣 (yī) is a Chinese character meaning “clothing.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亠 (structural). It ranks #725 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 衣 a woman's dress. Its radical form 衤 (clothing) appears in many related characters such as 表 (biǎo, exterior surface), 装 (zhuāng, dress, install), 初 (chū, beginning).
Definitions
- clothing
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA woman's dress
Stroke Order
Practice writing 衣 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 衣
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 衣服noun | yī fu | clothes | 1 |
| 内衣noun | nèi yī | undergarment | 6 |
| 上衣noun | shàng yī | jacket | 3 |
| 毛衣noun | máo yī | (wool) sweater | 4 |
| 大衣noun | dà yī | overcoat | 3 |
| 洗衣机noun | xǐ yī jī | washing machine | 3 |
| 雨衣noun | yǔ yī | raincoat | 3 |
| 衣食住行phrase | yī shí zhù xíng | (lit.) clothing, food, housing and transportation (idiom) | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 脱衣舞noun | tuō yī wǔ | striptease |
| 睡衣noun | shuì yī | night clothes |
| 衬衣noun | chèn yī | shirt |
| 衣柜noun | yī guì | wardrobe |
| 衣橱noun | yī chú | wardrobe |
| 更衣室noun | gēng yī shì | change room |
| 外衣noun | wài yī | outer clothing |
| 泳衣noun | yǒng yī | swimsuit |
| 洗衣verb | xǐ yī | laundry |
| 衣着noun | yī zhuó | clothes |
| 衣物noun | yī wù | clothing |
| 洗衣店noun | xǐ yī diàn | laundry (commercial establishment) |
| 洗衣房 | xǐ yī fáng | laundry room |
| 防弹衣noun | fáng dàn yī | bulletproof vest |
| 天衣无缝phrase | tiān yī wú fèng | lit. seamless heavenly clothes (idiom) |
衣 appears in 107 compound words: 32 as the first character, 61 as the last, and 7 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 衣 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (23)
freakishness; changeable and strange; changes in human affairs often take freakish forms
Showing 12 of 23 idioms containing 衣.
Example Sentences
这件衣服的面料很舒服，适合夏天穿着。
Zhè jiàn yīfu de miànliào hěn shūfu, shìhé xiàtiān chuānzhuó.
The fabric of this garment is very comfortable and suitable for summer wear.
亚洲l码和欧洲m码的区别?买衣服前必看的尺码指南
yà zhōu l mǎ hé ōu zhōu m mǎ de qū bié ? mǎi yī fú qián bì kàn de chǐ mǎ zhǐ nán
What is the difference between Asian L size and European M size? A must-read size guide before buying clothes
洗衣服最忌三个时间段?避开这些时段洗得更干净
xǐ yī fú zuì jì sān gè shí jiān duàn ? bì kāi zhè xiē shí duàn xǐ dé gēng gān jìng
The three most taboo time periods for washing clothes? Avoid these times to wash more cleanly
...字母哥招募布克!引用电影片段:穿一样的球衣我将为你而战
. . . zì mǔ gē zhāo mù bù kè ! yǐn yòng diàn yǐng piàn duàn : chuān yī yàng de qiú yī wǒ jiāng wéi nǐ ér zhàn
... Antetokounmpo recruits Booker! To quote a movie clip: I'll fight for you in the same jersey
...病筛检增3成” 泌尿医曝观察:染淋病、披衣菌最常见
. . . bìng shāi jiǎn zēng 3 chéng mì niào yī pù guàn chá : rǎn lín bìng , pī yī jūn zuì cháng jiàn
... Disease screening increased by 30%" Urologist exposure observation: gonorrhea and chlamydia are the most common
盘核桃、叠衣服、穿烤肠,银河通用春晚机器人是怎么“....
pán hé táo dié yī fú chuān kǎo cháng , yín hé tōng yòng chūn wǎn jī qì rén shì zěn má . . . .
Cracking walnuts, folding clothes, threading sausages—how does the Galaxy Universal Spring Festival Gala robot manage to...
你觉得这件毛衣怎么样？
Nǐ juéde zhè jiàn máoyī zěnmeyàng?
What do you think of this sweater?
那个穿棕色大衣的女人是谁？
Nèige chuān zōngsè dàyī de nǚrén shì shéi?
Who's the woman in the brown coat?
参加派对的话，你会穿哪一件衣服？
Cānjiā pàiduì dehuà, nǐ huì chuān nǎ yī jiàn yīfu?
When considering the party, what kind of clothes are you going to wear?
你能派人拿一些衣服，好吗？
Nǐ néng pài rén ná yīxiē yīfu, hǎo ma?
Could you send someone up to pick up some laundry?
Character Family
衤 Radical Family — Characters sharing the clothing radical
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 衣 (yī)?
Is 衣 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 衣 with real-time feedback
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