How to Write 褶 (zhě) — Meaning “fold; pleat; wrinkle”

Imagine a piece of clothing (衤) that you "fold" repeatedly like a fan — the right part 習 looks like two overlapping wings (羽習), reminding you of layers folding together. The pinyin zhě sounds like "jay" — think of a jay bird folding its wings into pleats.

The radical 衤 has two strokes — dot and slanted line — not to be confused with 礻. The right side 習 has two 羽 on top of 白 — ensure the top components are narrow and the bottom 白 is slightly wider. A common mistake is writing the left radical with only one dot or misplacing the horizontal stroke in the bottom part.

褶 has the clothing radical 衤 and means folds or pleats, while 褐 also has 衤 but means coarse cloth or brown (as in 褐色). Visually, 褶 has the complex right side 習, whereas 褐 has the right side 曷 — they look different: 褶 is taller with two 羽, 褐 has a simpler shape.

褶 appears in words like 褶皱 (wrinkles on skin or fabric) and 百褶裙 (pleated skirt), a common fashion item in modern China. In geology, 褶皱 refers to rock folds. Culturally, 百褶裙 is especially associated with traditional Chinese and ethnic minority clothing, like the Miao pleated skirts.

Common words containing 褶 include: 褶皱 (zhě zhòu) — wrinkle; fold; (geology) fold; 百褶裙 (bǎi zhě qún) — Pleated skirt; 褶子 (zhě zi) — pleat; fold; wrinkle.