How to Write 褪 (tuì/tùn) — Meaning “to fade; to take off (clothes); to shed”

Imagine a shirt (衤) that is "retreating" (退) from its original bright color — it has faded. Or picture someone taking off a jacket (衤) and stepping back (退) as it comes off. The visual helps link the clothing radical to the idea of fading or shedding.

The left radical 衤 (clothes) has a single dot on top, not two dots like 礻 (the spirit radical). The right part 退 has 艮 (gen) inside, so be sure to write the horizontal stroke after the 日-like shape, and finish with the 辶 (walk radical) under it. A common mistake is reversing the order of the last strokes in 退.

褪 means fade or shed, and uses 退 (retreat) as a phonetic and meaning component. 裎 (chéng) means to take off clothes or to be naked, but it is rare and uses 呈 (to present) as phonetic, not related to fading. 裕 (yù) means abundant or rich, with 谷 (valley) as phonetic, and has no connection to clothing or fading. Visually, 褪 has 退 inside, 裎 has 呈, and 裕 has 谷.

褪 is commonly used for colors fading, as in 褪色 (tuì shǎi) for clothes or paint losing color. It also means to take off clothing or shed hair, like 褪去 (tùn qù) for taking off a coat, or 褪毛 (tuì máo) for animals molting. Note that in the meaning "to take off," the pronunciation is often tùn instead of tuì, especially in colloquial speech.

Common words containing 褪 include: 褪色 (tuì shǎi) — to fade (color); 褪去 (tùn qù) — to fade away; to take off; to shed; 褪毛 (tuì máo) — to shed hair or feathers; to pluck.