How to Write 衩 (chǎ) — Meaning “slit (in a garment)”

Picture a pair of underpants (裤衩) with a fork (叉) cutting a slit at the side. The left side is the clothes radical, and the right side looks exactly like a fork poking through the fabric, helping you recall both the shape and the meaning.

Write the left radical 衤 first with two dots at the top, not a horizontal stroke. Then write the right part 叉: start with a left-falling stroke, then a dot, then a horizontal stroke that crosses, and finish with a dot at the bottom right. A common mistake is making the left side too wide or forgetting the final dot.

衩 has the unique right component 叉 (fork), while 补 has 卜 (divination) and 衫 has 彡 (three lines). Visually, 衩's right side looks like a crossed fork, whereas 补's right side has a single vertical stroke and 衫's has three parallel slashes. Meaning-wise, 衩 specifically refers to a slit in clothing, whereas 补 means to mend and 衫 means a shirt.

衩 appears in everyday words like 裤衩 (underpants or shorts) and 开衩 (a slit in a garment, such as in a dress or cheongsam). The term 开衩 is culturally significant for describing the side slits in traditional Chinese dresses, which allow movement while maintaining a sleek silhouette.

Common words containing 衩 include: 裤衩 (kù chǎ) — Underpants; shorts; 开衩 (kāi chǎ) — slit (in a garment); 衩口 (chǎ kǒu) — slit; vent (in clothing).