How to Write 裰 (duō) — Meaning “to mend clothes; a long robe”

Imagine a long robe (衤) that has a tear, and you use a needle and thread (叕 looks like multiple stitches) to mend it. The combination of clothing and many small stitches reminds you that 裰 means both 'to mend' and 'a long robe'.

The left side 衤 must be written with the first stroke as a dot, then a horizontal stroke, followed by a vertical stroke, and finally two small strokes on the left. The right side 叕 has four '又' components stacked vertically; do not merge them — each '又' has a distinct curve. A common mistake is making the right side too wide or confusing it with 綴 (zhuì).

裰 (duō) specifically means to mend clothes or a long robe, while 袱 (fú) means a cloth wrapper or bundle, and 袴 (kù) means trousers or pants. Visually, 裰 has the stacked pattern 叕 on the right, 袱 has 伏 (fú) on the right, and 袴 has 夸 (kuā) on the right. Their meanings and pronunciations are distinct.

裰 appears mainly in historical or literary contexts, such as describing the traditional Chinese robe called 直裰 (zhí duō), worn by scholars or monks. The verb form 补裰 (bǔ duō, 'to mend') is rarely used in daily conversation but can be found in older texts. Understanding 裰 helps learners appreciate classical clothing terms in Chinese culture.

Common words containing 裰 include: 直裰 (zhí duō) — Zhiduo (a type of traditional Chinese robe); 补裰 (bǔ duō) — To mend / To patch clothes; 裰子 (duō zi) — a long robe (traditionally worn by scholars or monks).