How to Write 裳 (shang) — Meaning “clothes; lower garment; skirt”

Imagine a person wearing a stylish shawl, which sounds like "shang." The top part 衣 looks like a coat, and the bottom part 尚 reminds you of "fashion" — clothes that are stylish.

Write the 衣 radical first: dot, horizontal, left-falling, right-falling, then two small strokes. Then add 尚: vertical, dot, left-falling, right-falling, and a small mouth. A common mistake is making the 衣 too wide — keep it narrow so 尚 fits neatly below.

裁 (cai) means "to cut cloth" and uses the 衣 radical with 戈 (dagger-axe). 裂 (lie) means "to split or tear" and adds 列 (arrange) under 衣. 裳 specifically means a lower garment or skirt, while 裁 and 裂 focus on cutting and tearing actions.

裳 appears mostly in the common word 衣裳 (yī shang), which means "clothes" or "clothing" in everyday speech. It is less formal than 衣服 (yī fu) and is often used in northern Chinese dialects. You might hear phrases like 穿衣裳 (put on clothes) or 洗衣裳 (wash clothes).

Common words containing 裳 include: 衣裳 (yī shang) — Clothes / Clothing; 穿衣裳 (chuān yī shang) — To put on clothes; 洗衣裳 (xǐ yī shang) — Wash clothes.