How to Write 裤 (kù) — Meaning “Trousers; pants”

Imagine that your pants are stored in a 'warehouse' (库) made of fabric (衤). The picture of a warehouse full of cloth pants can help you connect the left clothing radical with the right warehouse sound component.

Write the left radical 衤 first, paying attention to its dot, horizontal stroke, vertical stroke, left-falling stroke, and final dot. The right side 库 starts with a dot and horizontal stroke (like 广), then write the lower part 车 with a horizontal, left-falling, horizontal, and vertical stroke—do not confuse it with 衣 or 示. Keep the left side narrow and the right side wider to maintain balance.

裤 means 'trousers' and has the right side 库 (warehouse), while 袍 (páo) means 'robe' or 'gown' and has the right side 包 (wrap). 袒 (tǎn) means 'to bare' (like bare arms) and has the right side 旦 (dawn). Visually, the key differences are the right-side components, so focus on memorizing 库 vs 包 vs 旦.

裤 is used in words for all types of pants, such as 裤子 (kùzi, general pants), 长裤 (chángkù, long trousers), and 短裤 (duǎnkù, shorts). Culturally, Chinese people refer to pants as a single item (not 'a pair of pants'), so 一条裤子 (yī tiáo kùzi) is used to mean 'one pair of pants.'

Common words containing 裤 include: 裤子 (kù zi) — Trousers; pants; 长裤 (cháng kù) — Trousers; 短裤 (duǎn kù) — Shorts..