How to Write 帔 (pèi) — Meaning “A cape or mantle (ancient garment).”

Picture a cape (帔) hanging from a cloth hanger (巾) that is made of animal skin (皮). This combines the visual of the two parts to remind you that 帔 means a cape or mantle.

Write the left radical 巾 with three balanced strokes: vertical, horizontal fold, and vertical. Then draw the right side 皮 starting with a horizontal hook, followed by a left-falling stroke, a curved right-falling stroke, and a small dot. A common mistake is making the right side too wide; keep both parts similar in height.

帔 (pèi, cape) has 皮 on the right, while 帆 (fān, sail) has 凡 on the right. 师 (shī, teacher) also contains the cloth radical 巾, but it has a single left-falling stroke on the left, not 皮, and its meaning is unrelated to clothing.

Today 帔 is rarely used in everyday speech; it appears mainly in historical texts, traditional opera costumes, and set phrases like 霞帔 (xiá pèi), an embroidered ceremonial cape from ancient China. You may also see it in discussions of classical clothing or period dramas.

Common words containing 帔 include: 帔子 (pèi zi) — A cape or shawl.; 霞帔 (xiá pèi) — Embroidered cape (traditional ceremonial scarf); 披帔 (pī pèi) — to wear a cape.