Comparing "chuan" and "dai"

While both 穿 (chuān) and 戴 (dài) mean “to wear” or “to put on” the body, different types of clothing or accessories use either 穿 (chuān) or 戴 (dài), but not both. These are set patterns and the two verbs are not interchangeable.

B1HSK4ASV4567

	穿 (chuān)	戴 (dài)
Meaning	to wear	to wear
Part of Speech	verb	verb
Formality	flexible	flexible

:Yes

穿 (chuān) means "to wear" and is used for shirts, pants, shoes, socks

穿 (chuān) literally means "to pierce," and when used for clothing, it means that your body is "going through" the clothing in some way. This is especially true for shirts and pants. For shoes and socks, Your feet "go through" the shoes or socks, but don't come out on the other side. It still counts. Jackets, coats, vests all work like shorts and use 穿 (chuān) as well.

Fixed Collocations

• 穿 衣服 chuān yīfu to wear clothes
• 穿 鞋子 chuān xiézi to wear shoes
• 穿 袜子 chuān wàzi to wear socks
• 穿 裤子 chuān kùzi to wear trousers

戴 (dài) means "to wear" and is used for all kinds of accessories

When an article of clothing or an accessorie simply sits on the body (like a hat or eyeglasses), wraps around it (like a belt or a scarf), or hangs from it (like an earring or a bracelet), the appropriate verb is 戴 (dài). Gloves and rings may seem to work like socks, which use 穿 (chuān), but both of those actually use 戴 (dài).

Note that this is a different verb from the 带 (dài) that means "to carry," although it is pronounced identically.

• 戴 眼镜 dài yǎnjìng to wear glasses
• 戴手套
• 戴帽子
• 戴手表
• 戴口罩
• 戴戒指
• 戴项链
• 戴领带
• 戴耳机
• 戴耳环
• 戴手表

Websites

• "戴" 和 "穿" 和有什么不一样?

请看这篇文章下面的评论： 《新华字典》中有明确的解释，在穿戴相关性上，穿是指“把衣服鞋袜等套在身上”，戴是指“加在头、面、颈、手等处”，即“穿”的是主要的、必需的，而“戴”的是次要的、装饰的，汉字的魅力在此可见一斑。所以，外套毛衣、背心短裤，脚下的袜子、鞋子都是穿上的，首饰珠宝、手表眼镜、帽子围巾，甚至手铐脚镣、鼻环假睫毛都是用戴。