HSK 1 · Common Objects

衣服 yīfu “clothes” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 衣服 means

  1. clothes

Measure word 件 jiàn or 套 tào · 一件衣服 yí jiàn yīfu

How to say 衣服

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale衣yī1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the neutral tone: short and light, with no contour of its own服funeutral tone, light and short

Grey pinyin is a neutral tone: say it short and light. More on the neutral tone

衣服 in a sentence

  1. 她喜欢穿深颜色的衣服。

    Tā xǐhuan chuān shēn yánsè de yīfu.

    She likes to wear dark colours.

    Sentence #1510611 from Tatoeba

  2. 我今天去买衣服了。

    Wǒ jīntiān qù mǎi yīfu le.

    I went to buy clothes today.

    Sentence #1512392 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 衣服 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 衣 (yī) drawn as one shape
衣yīclothes

衣 is a single shape of 6 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidDrawn from a robe, with its collar and sleeves.

The character 服 (fú) with each of its parts in a different colour
服fúclotheslight in 衣服
  • 月moon · yuè
  • 卩seal · jié
  • 又again · yòu

How to write 衣服

衣 6 strokes · 服 8 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

衣服 (yīfu) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 衣服 (yīfu). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 衣服

Words with 衣

大衣dàyī · overcoat上衣shàngyī · top雨衣yǔyī · raincoat洗衣机xǐyījī · washing machine衣裳yīshang · clothes

Words with 服

服务员fúwùyuán · waiter舒服shūfu · comfortable服务fúwù · to serve服装fúzhuāng · dress说服shuōfú · to persuade克服kèfú · to overcome (difficulties)佩服pèifú · to admire制服zhìfú · uniform服从fúcóng · to obey屈服qūfú · to yield

More words: Everyday Things

钱qián · money名字míngzi · name椅子yǐzi · chair桌子zhuōzi · table杯子bēizi · cup电脑diànnǎo · computer电视diànshì · television电影diànyǐng · movie

FAQs

衣服 (yīfu) means “clothes”. It is an HSK 1 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it yīfu: yī with a 1st tone, then fu with a neutral tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 衣服 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Use 件 (jiàn) or 套 (tào). For example, one clothes is 一件衣服 (yí jiàn yīfu).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yifu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 衣服 from the suggestions. Typing yifu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
衣服 is an HSK 1 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.