How to Write 氅 (chǎng) — Meaning “cloak / overcoat”

Imagine a spacious (敞) cloak made of feathers (毛) that you wrap around yourself — the character's parts literally mean "open fur" or "spacious feather garment." This link between the spacious shape of a cloak and its furry material makes it easier to recall.

When writing 氅, keep the top part 敞 slightly wider than the bottom 毛 so the character looks balanced. A common mistake is making the 毛 radical too large, which makes the character look bottom-heavy — remember the cloak hangs down, so 毛 should be slender and centered under 敞.

氅 (chǎng) means "cloak" and is a complete garment, while 氆 (pǔ) and 氇 (lu) appear only in the compound 氆氇 (pǔlu), which refers to a type of woolen fabric. Visually, 氅 has 敞 on top, whereas 氆 has 普 and 氇 has 鲁 above the same 毛 radical.

氅 is rarely used in everyday speech but appears in historical or literary descriptions, such as 大氅 (long cloak) or 鹤氅 (crane-feather cloak). The 鹤氅 is especially linked to Daoist immortals and traditional Chinese opera, symbolizing an otherworldly or scholarly elegance.

Common words containing 氅 include: 大氅 (dà chǎng) — Cloak; 鹤氅 (hè chǎng) — crane-down cloak (traditional Chinese garment); 披氅 (pī chǎng) — to wear a cloak.