袖

xiù
noun #13,973

Meanings

  1. 1 sleeve

Examples

HSK 3
Zhè jiàn yīfu de xiùzi tài cháng le.
The sleeves of this shirt are too long.
HSK 6
Tā juǎnqǐ xiùzi kāishǐ gànhuó.
He rolled up his sleeves and started working.

Tips

usage
袖子 (sleeve), 长袖 (long sleeve), 短袖 (short sleeve), 袖珍 (pocket-sized).

Components

radical
衤 yī
clothing (radical form of 衣)
Left clothing radical - the indexing radical in its 5-stroke side form (compare full 衣 standalone). Anchors 袖 in the garment family with 衫 (shirt), 裤 (trousers), 袜 (sock), 裙 (skirt). The sleeve is part of a garment, so this radical is the natural index.
phonetic
由 yóu
from; by; cause
Right side 由 supplies the sound - yóu drifted to xiù through onset alternation, a shift visible in pairs like 油/釉. A useful mnemonic: things go out 'from' the body through the sleeve - 袖 is the tube clothing flows out by. Same phonetic appears in 抽 (chōu, pull out) and 宙 (zhòu).

Stroke Order

袖 xiù