Chinese Language Learning Program Lesson 104 – The difference between “chuān,穿” and “dài,戴” in Chinese

Chinese Language Learning Program

Lesson 104 – The difference between “chuān,穿” 

and “dài,戴” in Chinese

Hello, everyone. Welcome back. This is Baixue’s Chinese Language Learning Program. Last time we talked about the different names for the same family members in Chinese. Today, we will talk about the difference between “chuān” and “dài” in Chinese.

In English, “chuān” and “dài” all mean “wear” or “put on”, and you can say: Bai Xue is wearing a blue dress or Bai Xue is wearing a beautiful watch or Bai Xue is wearing a nice hat or Bai Xue is wearing perfume, etc.  See, you can always use “wear” to express something on somebody. But in Chinese, there are two different characters to express “wear”, and they can not be used in the wrong way.

chuān                         dài

穿   (wear)               戴 (wear)

chuān qún zi

穿      裙  子 (wear skirt, wear dress)

chuān kù zi

穿     裤子(wear pants)

chuān wà zi

     穿    袜子 (wear socks)

chuān xié zi

     穿    鞋 子 (wear shoes)

chuān wài tào

     穿     外  套 (wear coat)

chuān xī  zhuāng

     穿   西      装 (wear suit)

dài mào zi

 戴   帽   子 (wear a hat)

dài shǒu tào

 戴     手   套 (wear gloves)

dài ěr huán

 戴 耳    环 (wear earrings)

dài xiàng liàn

 戴    项     链 (wear necklace)

dài yǎn jìng

 戴   眼   镜 (wear glasses)

Ok, did you find the difference between “chuān” and “dài” in Chinese after you read these examples?

From the examples above, we can see that when we say wearing something that is an essential thing for our daily life, we use “chuān, 穿” and when we say wearing something that is not our essential thing for our daily life, or something that is ornament for us, we use “dài, 戴”. For example, necklace, glasses, and so on.

So, now do you know how to use “chuān, 穿” and “dài, 戴” to make sentences in Chinese? I bet you surely can.

Ok, today’s item is:

zhāng guān lǐ dài

张       冠   李 戴 (put Zhang's hat on Li's head -- the wrong  

person; approach the wrong person; attribute sth. to the wrong person;confuse one thing with another; confuse things;)

nà shì tā de cuò, nǐ bù yào zhāng guān lǐ dài.

 那  是 他 的   错,  你 不   要      张       冠   李 戴。

(It's his fault. You needn't try to shift the blame.)

Ok, that is all for today.

xiè  xiè!

 谢   谢 ! (Thanks!)

xià  cì  jiàn 

 下  次  见!  (See you next time!)