Chinese word

披

Pronunciation

Pinyinpī

Meaning

  • verbdrape

Example

他在门口披着外套等我。tā zài mén kǒu pī zhe wài tào děng wǒ

He is waiting for me at the door with a coat draped over his shoulders.

Illustration for 披 (drape)

More examples

天开始下雨了，她赶紧披上外套出门。tiān kāi shǐ xià yǔ le tā gán jǐn pī shàng wài tào chū mén

It started to rain, so she quickly put on a coat and went out.

Core concept

An outer layer rests over the shoulders and body, covering the person without necessarily being put on like a fitted garment.

Common phrases

  • 披上外套pī shàng wài tào

    put on a coat

  • 披着斗篷pī zhe dǒu péng

    wear a cloak

Similar words

穿chuān: Putting clothing on the body to wear it.
裹guǒ: Wrapping cloth or a blanket around a person or object to cover it.

Definition in Chinese

用披肩、外套等搭在肩上或披在身上，表示将外衣覆盖在身上yòng pī jiān wài tào děng dā zài jiān shàng huò pī zài shēn shàng biǎo shì jiāng wài yī fù gài zài shēn shàng

Word origin

披 (pī, "to drape") is a phono-semantic character whose hand radical signals an action and whose 皮 (pí, "skin; hide") component supplies the sound.

Usage tips

  • The aspect marker 着 (zhe, "ongoing state") commonly follows this verb when the clothing remains draped, making it useful for describing a continuing visible state rather than a single change.

Other meanings

  • wearverb

Opposites

  • 脱下tuō xiàtake offverb
  • 脱掉tuō diàoremoveverb

Related words

  • 披肩pī jiānshawlnoun
  • 披风pī fēngcloaknoun
  • 披露pī lùdiscloseverb

Word lists with this word