衣 yī / yì — clothes; gown; to dress; to wear
妈妈把洗好的衣服晾在阳台上。Mā ma bǎ xǐ hǎo de yī fu liàng zài yáng tái shàng.Mom hung the washed clothes on the balcony.
Common words: 衣服 (yī fu)、大衣 (dà yī)、洗衣机 (xǐ yī jī)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to dress"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to dress", including 衣 (yī / yì), 穿 (chuān). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to dress" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 衣 (yī / yì), 穿 (chuān) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span yī, yì, chuān — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 衣 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 衣 yī / yìclothes; gown; to dress; to wearUseful words: 衣服, 大衣
- 穿 chuānto bore through; pierce; perforate; penetrate; pass through; to dressUseful words: 穿上, 穿越
Common words for these 2 "to dress" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 衣 (yī / yì) — so "to dress" 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 "to dress".
穿 chuān — to bore through; pierce; perforate; penetrate; pass through; to dress
今天很冷，多穿一件外套吧。Jīn tiān hěn lěng, duō chuān yí jiàn wài tào ba.It is cold today; put on an extra coat.
Common words: 穿上 (chuān shang)、穿越 (chuān yuè)、穿过 (chuān guò)
All 2 characters
Open 衣、穿 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.