衤"suit" component sometimes mistaken

The component 衤"suit" is presented for two categories of hanzi, the first correct, the second incorrect:

  1. it correctly appears where 衤 is indeed on the left of the hanzi
  2. it incorrectly appears where a similar-looking, but distinct component 礻 actually appears - notice that the 4th stroke of 衤 is missing from 礻.

Where 衤 has vague associations with clothing, 礻 has vague associations with religion. There is no dictionary (I consult several) that lists one as a variant of the other, or that substitutes one for the other.

Heisig, although he confused a couple of similar pairs like this, keeps these particular components distinct. I know you’re familiar with his work, so if you want to look up his take on the matter, he calls 衤"cloak" and 礻"altar".

I’ve checked various hanzi in Hanzi Hero, and in every case I’ve seen where the 4-stroke 礻appears in the hanzi, the components list has the 5-stroke 衤 instead.

Here is a list of all the instances I’ve found: “beginning”, “to look at”, “ceremony”, “happiness”, “society”, “God”, “to wish well”, “auspicious”, “ancestor”, “meditation”, “to pray” (both forms), “misfortune” and “to offer sacrifice”. All of these have the 4-stroke component in the hanzi, but the 5-stroke component listed instead.

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See here for a recent thread on this exact topic:

Short version: Intentionally not separated currently, but might separate in future.

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Thanks. I took care to look through the selection of posts “on similar topics” that appeared when I entered the topic title, and I this thread wasn’t among them.

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