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衬

襯
chèn
verb #11,681

Meanings

  1. 1 lining; inner layer
  2. 2 to line; to set off; to contrast
  3. 3 shirt (in 衬衫)

Examples

HSK 3
你穿衬衫吧。
Nǐ chuān chènshān ba.
Wear a shirt.
HSK 6
衬衣要烫一下。
Chènyī yào tàng yíxià.
The shirt needs to be ironed.
HSK 7-9
绿叶衬托着红花。
Lǜyè chèntuō zhe hónghuā.
Green leaves set off the red flowers.

Tips

usage
衬 is mainly used in: 衬衫/衬衣 (shirt), 衬托 (set off by contrast), 衬里 (lining). The character suggests an inner layer that supports or contrasts with an outer layer.

Components

radical
衤 yī
clothing (radical form of 衣)
Clothing radical on the left - the side-form of 衣. It files 衬 in the garment section with 袍 robe, 衫 shirt, 裙 skirt. A 衬 is the lining inside outerwear - the inner garment that backs the outer - so the radical does direct semantic work naming the layer.
phonetic
寸 cùn
inch; small measure
Right side 寸 supplies the sound - cùn shifted to chèn in 衬's reading. The 'inch; measure' meaning is dormant. Treat 寸 as the phonetic clue. Same series: 村 village, 付 to hand over - all use this same right-side glyph for the sound rather than the measurement sense.

Stroke Order

衬 chèn