Is it ‘to put on’ or ‘to wear’ in Chinese? It’s both
You’ve probably heard that we say both ‘to put on’ and ‘to wear’ in Chinese when talking about clothing. It’s true. But ‘to put on’ – 戴 (dài) and ‘to wear’ 穿 (chuān) actually follow a really logical system that you can quickly learn.
Both verbs are correct for different settings – so don’t think you can get away with only learning one.
In today’s video, let’s discover the differences between the two verbs – and how to use them correctly.
穿 (chuān)
穿 (chuān) is commonly used with clothes, something that we have to wear.
It might be a t-shirt, a coat, a pair of trousers, etc.
戴 (dài)
戴 (dài) is commonly used with accessories. You’ll be fine if you don’t wear them.
It might be a pair of sunglasses, a watch, a ring, etc.
Examples of ‘to put on’ and ‘to wear’ in Chinese
这几天天气突然变冷了，我男朋友非常关心我，所以他给我发微信说： “你出门的时候一定要多穿点儿衣服，当然也别忘了戴手套、帽子和围巾，千万别感冒了哦!”
Zhè jǐ tiān tiānqì túrán biàn lěng le, wǒ nánpéngyou fēicháng guānxīn wǒ, suǒyǐ tā gěi wǒ fā Wēixìn shuō:
“Nǐ chūmén de shíhou yīdìng yào duō chuān diǎnr yīfu, dāngrán yě bié wàngle dài shǒutào, màozi hé wéijīn, qiānwàn bié gǎnmào le ó!”
In the past few days the weather suddenly got cold, and my boyfriend really cares about me, so he texted me saying:
“When you go out, make sure you wear some more layers. Don’t forget to wear a pair of gloves, a hat, and a scarf. Don’t catch a cold!”
Confident using ‘to put on’ and ‘to wear’ in Chinese? Good!
Why not take the next step and book one of our totally free trial classes to practise using them under the supervision of our Chinese teachers? Learning online doesn’t have to be hard!
Alternatively, why not branch out and have a look at Chinese loan words, or the past in Chinese?
What ever you want to practise, we have a blog post for it. If we don’t? Let us know in the comments or on our social media!
IMPORTANT NOTE
Even though socks (袜子 wàzi) are considered to be small objects (accessories), the word 穿 (chuān) is still used to say “to wear socks”.
What do you think of 穿 (chuān) or 戴 (dài)？
Can you make a sentence using these two words? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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