How to Write 袴 (kù) — Meaning “Trousers (archaic variant of 裤)”

Imagine a pair of trousers (衤) that are so fancy you want to "boast" (夸) about them. This connects the clothes radical to the sound and meaning of the right side, helping you recall that 袴 is an old word for trousers. Remember: "boastful pants."

Write the left radical 衤 first (strokes: dot, dot, horizontal, left-falling, vertical, right-falling) — note the two dots at the top, not a single line. The right side 夸 starts with 大 (big) then 亏 (below), and the overall shape should be balanced: narrow left, wider right. A common mistake is confusing the radical with 礻 (spirit), so remember 衤 has two dots for clothing.

袴 uses the right component 夸 and means "trousers" (archaic). 衲 uses 内 (nèi) on the right and means "to patch" or refers to a Buddhist robe. 衹 uses 氏 (shì) on the right and can mean "only" (variant of 只) or a monk's robe. Visually, the right parts differ clearly: 夸, 内, and 氏.

袴 is an archaic variant of the modern character 裤 (kù, trousers) and is rarely used in daily writing today. You may encounter it in historical texts or classical terms like 袴褶 (kù zhě), which refers to ancient riding attire consisting of trousers and a tunic. Culturally, it appears in descriptions of traditional military or equestrian clothing.

Common words containing 袴 include: 袴褶 (kù zhě) — Ancient riding attire (trousers and tunic); 袴子 (kù zi) — Pants; trousers; 连袴 (lián kù) — connected leggings.