衲

nà
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 a monk's patched robe; a cassock
  2. 2 a monk's humble self-reference, as in 老衲

Examples

HSK 7-9
Chuān zhe bǎinàyī de lǎo héshang mànmàn shàng shān.
The old monk in his patched robe slowly went up the mountain.

Tips

history
衲 originally meant a robe sewn from many cloth scraps, the dress of a monk. By extension monks call themselves 老衲. It rarely stands alone in modern Chinese, surviving in 百衲衣 and Buddhist literature. Built on the clothing radical 衤.
register
Literary and Buddhist. 衲 appears in classical poetry and temple contexts, not in everyday speech.

Components

radical
衤 yī
clothing; garment
The clothing radical 衤 (left-side form of 衣) marks 衲 as a kind of garment and is its indexing radical.
phonetic
内 nèi
inside; (here) phonetic
The 内 element supplies the sound nà and a faint 'lining / inside' flavor, fitting a layered patched robe.

Stroke Order

衲 nà