襟

jīn

noun #33,982

Meanings

1 lapel
2 front of a Chinese gown
3 (figurative) bosom, mind, heart

Characters

襟

jīn

lapel; bosom

Examples

他擦了擦衣襟上的灰。

Tā cā le cā yī jīn shàng de huī.

He brushed the dust off the front of his clothes.

她胸襟开阔，从不计较小事。

Tā xiōngjīn kāikuò, cóngbù jìjiào xiǎoshì.

She is broad-minded and never frets about small things.

Tips

memory

Cloth radical 衤 plus 禁 (forbid, 'jìn'-like sound) gives the meaning 'lapel'. Most often you'll see 襟 inside compounds: 衣襟 (front of the garment), 胸襟 (bosom/breadth of mind), 襟怀 (heart, aspirations).

Components

radical

衤 yī

clothing (radical form of 衣)

Side-clothing radical on the left — compressed form of 衣 used for wearable things (衫 shirt, 袖 sleeve, 袍 robe, 裤 trousers). Marks 襟 as a specific part of a garment: the front flap or lapel of a traditional Chinese gown where the two sides cross over the chest.

phonetic

禁 jìn

to forbid; to restrain (here phonetic)

Right 禁 supplies the sound — jìn → jīn, only a tone change. The 'forbid, restrain' meaning has a faint visual link: the lapel is the part of the gown holding the front closed, restraining inner clothing from showing. Same phonetic family includes 噤 (silenced) — all jin-readings.

Stroke Order

襟 jīn

襟