How to Write 衣 (yī) — Meaning “clothes; clothing; garment”

Visualize the character as a person wearing a coat seen from the front: the top dot is the head, the horizontal stroke is the shoulders, and the two downward strokes are the open sides of the coat. This image helps you link the shape to its meaning 'clothes'.

The stroke order is: dot, horizontal left-falling, vertical hook, left-falling, right-falling. A common mistake is to make the vertical hook too short or to forget the hook—the hook should be clear and the two final strokes (left and right falling) should be balanced like the two sides of a coat.

衣 (yī) means 'clothes' and has a dot on top with a vertical hook below, while 表 (biǎo) means 'surface' or 'watch' and has two horizontal strokes at the top instead of a dot. Their pronunciations and meanings are completely different, so focus on the top part to tell them apart.

衣 appears in everyday words like 衣服 (yīfu, clothing) and 大衣 (dàyī, overcoat), and is also part of the common expression 衣食住行 (yī shí zhù xíng), which lists the four basic necessities of life: clothing, food, housing, and transportation. It is a core character for discussing daily life.

Common words containing 衣 include: 衣服 (yī fú) — clothes; clothing; 大衣 (dà yī) — Overcoat; 洗衣机 (xǐ yī jī) — Washing machine.