衣 (yī) — (bound form) clothing; garment
Definition
衣 (yī) is a bound morpheme meaning 'clothing/garment' — it never stands alone, always appearing inside compounds like 外衣 (coat) or 内衣 (underwear).
bound form
clothinggarment
Easily confused
- 一yīsound-alikeone; a (used before measure words)
- 伊yīsound-alike(literary, archaic) he; she
- 依yīsound-alike(verb) to rely on, to depend on
- 医yīsound-alike(bound form) medical; medicine; to cure
- 椅yīsound-alike(bound form) chair (used in compounds like 椅子, 轮椅)
- 咿yīsound-alike(onomatopoeia) used to represent creaking, babbling, or squeaking sounds, often in the form 咿呀 or 咿咿呀呀
Examples
- 。Zhè jiàn wài yī hěn shū fu.This coat is very comfortable.
- ，。Dōng tiān dào le, gāi mǎi jiàn máo yī le.Winter is here, it's time to buy a sweater.
- 。Tā de nèi yī shì bái sè de.His underwear is white.
Origin
Pictograph六书liùshū
象形xiàngxíngA drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.
The shape of 衣 comes from an outline of the chest and upper clothing.
Appears in
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