How to Write 衲 (nà) — Meaning “to patch (clothes); monk's robe”

Imagine a monk sitting inside (内) his robe (衤), carefully sewing a patch onto a hole. The picture of the monk inside his robe helps connect the left clothing radical with the right 'inside' part. This mental image ties directly to the meaning of patching a monk's robe.

Write the left radical 衤 first: dot, horizontal stroke, left vertical, then right dot (the order is important). The right part 内 has 4 strokes: vertical, horizontal fold hook, left vertical, and a final right horizontal hook – make sure it is not too tall or too wide. A common mistake is confusing the right side with 内 from other characters, so keep the proportions: left narrow, right slightly wider.

衲 (nà) specifically means to patch a robe or refers to a monk's patched garment, while 补 (bǔ) means to mend or repair any clothing or object in general. 衩 (chà) refers to a slit or fork in clothing, like the side opening of a dress. Visually, 衲 has 内 on the right, 补 has 卜 (a simple hook stroke), and 衩 has 叉 (a fork shape).

衲 is very rare in everyday language and appears mainly in Buddhist contexts, such as the humble self-reference 老衲 (lǎo nà) meaning 'old monk'. You might also encounter it in classical texts or descriptions of monks' traditional patchwork robes (衲衣). It is not part of the HSK vocabulary, so learners mostly meet it in cultural or religious readings.

Common words containing 衲 include: 老衲 (lǎo nà) — Old monk (a humble way for a monk to refer to himself).; 补衲 (bǔ nà) — To patch / To mend; 衲衣 (nà yī) — patchwork robe (worn by monks).