戴

dài
verb HSK 4 #785

Meanings

  1. 1 to wear (accessories on head, face, hands)
  2. 2 to put on (hat, glasses, gloves, etc.)

Characters

A complex character (17 strokes) - only used for accessories worn on the upper body (hats, glasses, gloves), unlike 穿 which is for full clothing.

Examples

HSK 5
Tā dài zhe yī fù yǎnjìng.
He is wearing a pair of glasses.
HSK 5
Dōngtiān yào dài shǒutào.
You should wear gloves in winter.
HSK 6
Tā dài le yī dǐng hóngsè de màozi.
She put on a red hat.

Tips

usage
戴 is for accessories (hat, glasses, watch, ring, gloves, mask). Use 穿 for clothes you put your body through (shirt, pants, shoes).
grammar
戴着 with 着 describes the ongoing state of wearing something.

Components

radical
戈 gē
halberd; dagger-axe
Wrapping halberd radical (Kangxi #62) - the indexing radical, distributed around the figure: stroke 2 is the top-right point, strokes 14-16 are the sweeping right diagonal and lower hook. Originally the picture was a ceremonial dagger-axe carried while bearing a headdress; the 戈 frames the whole act. Same radical anchors 战, 我, 成 - the weapon-and-banner family.
ideograph
十 shí
ten (here a stylized cap shape)
Top-left horizontal-and-vertical - a 十-like cap that sits above 異 inside the 戈 overlay. Not the 'ten' meaning here; it is the simplified residue of an older phonetic-and-cap element. Pedagogically: a small cross at the very top, standing for the headgear being put on.
phonetic
異 yì
different; two-handed offering
Middle 異 (traditional form of 异) - supplies a partial sound and the bulk of the picture. 異 itself shows two hands raising a 田-like object overhead, the same gesture as putting on a hat. So 戴 is etymologically 'two hands lifting something onto the head' - the literal action of donning a headdress. Sound has drifted (yì → dài) but the iconography is the strongest anchor.

Stroke Order

戴 dài