Pinyin	yī
Meaning	clothes
Radical	衣	繁體字	same

n/a

category: pictograph

structure: single

6stroke count

HSK 1

衣 (yī) is a pictograph of an upper outer garment, meaning “clothes.”

Used as a component

衣 (yī) usually plays a semantic role as a component unless it is on the right of a character. It has three forms.

1. 衤 (left)

The first alternative form is 衤. The component becomes narrower; the horizontal stroke and left falling below (red) merges into one stroke; the vertical-rising (yellow) turns into a simple vertical stroke.

2. 𧘇 (bottom)

The top, which is the first two strokes, is removed in this form..

3. 衣 (other)

The component doesn’t change significantly.

Used as a morpheme/word

衣 (yī) is mainly used as a morpheme. The word for “clothes” is 衣服 (yīfu).

How to pronounce

This character sounds like ee, as in “see.”