冠 guān / guàn — hat; crown; crest; cap; to head
经过激烈的比赛，他获得了冠军。Jīng guò jī liè de bǐ sài, tā huò dé le guàn jūn.After a fierce competition, he won the championship.
Common words: 冠军 (guàn jūn)、夺冠 (duó guàn)、冠以 (guàn yǐ)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "cap"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "cap", including 冠 (guān / guàn), 帽 (mào). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "cap" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 冠 (guān / guàn), 帽 (mào) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span guān, guàn, mào — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 冠 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 冠 guān / guànhat; crown; crest; cap; to headUseful words: 冠军, 夺冠
- 帽 màohat; capUseful words: 帽子, 方帽
Common words for these 2 "cap" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 冠 (guān / guàn) — so "cap" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "cap".
帽 mào — hat; cap
天冷了，他戴上了一顶毛线帽。Tiān lěng le, tā dài shàng le yì dǐng máo xiàn mào.It got cold, so he put on a wool hat.
Common words: 帽子 (mào zi)、方帽 (fāng mào)、便帽 (biàn mào)
All 2 characters
Open 冠、帽 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.