How to Write 衿 (jīn) — Meaning “lapel; collar”

Imagine that today (今) you put on a special collar (衤) — so "today's collar" is 衿. The sound of 今 (jīn) also matches the pinyin jīn, helping you remember the pronunciation.

Start with the clothing radical 衤: write a dot, then a horizontal, a vertical, a left-falling stroke, and a right-falling stroke. Then on the right write 今 (top stroke, then a horizontal, a dot, a horizontal hook, and a final dot). A common mistake is making the 衤 radical too narrow or mixing up the stroke order of the bottom part of 今.

补 (bǔ) means to mend or repair clothing, while 衩 (chà) means a slit or opening in a skirt. Visually, 补 has 卜 on the right and 衩 has 叉, whereas 衿 has 今. In meaning, 衿 specifically refers to the collar or lapel area, not mending or slits.

衿 is rarely used alone in daily speech but appears in classical or literary phrases like 青衿 (qīng jīn), which originally meant a blue-collar student robe and later became a term for scholars or students. You might also encounter it in historical contexts or formal writing about traditional clothing.

Common words containing 衿 include: 青衿 (qīng jīn) — blue collar; student's robe (ancient); 衿甲 (jīn jiǎ) — armor collar; breastplate; 衿带 (jīn dài) — sash; clothing ties.