What does 戴 mean in Chinese?

戴 (dài) means "wear, to wear (hat, etc.)" in Chinese. The new HSK exam expects you to recognise it at HSK 4.

How do you write 戴?

戴 is written with 17 strokes, starting from the 戈 (halberd) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 戴?

The radical of 戴 is 戈 (halberd, Kangxi radical #62). Other common HSK characters using the same radical include 我, 戈.

How many strokes does 戴 have?

The Chinese character 戴 has 17 strokes.

What HSK level is 戴?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 戴 is a character to recognise at HSK 4.

戴 (dài): Meaning, Stroke Order, Radical & Examples

戴

dài

wear, to wear (hat, etc.)

HSK 4 character 17 strokes Radical: 戈 (halberd)

Quick Answer

戴 (dài) means "wear, to wear (hat, etc.)" with 17 strokes, radical 戈 (halberd), HSK 4 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 戴 →Animated stroke-order for 戴 →

Pronunciation

dài

Meaning

Primary: wear

Other meanings:

to wear (hat
etc.)

Etymology

Ten fields shared with a weapon — to wear on head

Mnemonic hooks the visual decomposition to a memorable image. The full oracle-bone to modern evolution is being added character-by-character via the Phase 13 etymology pass.

Decomposition

戴=十component+田component+共component+戈radical

Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.

Basic info

Pinyin	dài
Meanings	wear, to wear (hat, etc.)
Stroke count	17 strokes
Radical	戈 (#62: halberd)
New HSK exam	Recognise at HSK 4
Frequency	#647 most common

Example sentences

今天很冷，记得戴帽子。
Jīntiān hěn lěng, jìde dài màozi.
It's very cold today, remember to wear a hat.
From 戴 (HSK 4)
他深受人民的爱戴。
Tā shēn shòu rénmín de àidài.
He is deeply loved by the people.
From 爱戴 (HSK 7-9)
参加婚礼要注意穿戴整齐得体。
Cānjiā hūnlǐ yào zhùyì chuāndài zhěngqí détǐ.
When attending a wedding, pay attention to dressing neatly and appropriately.
From 穿戴