帽

帽 is a phono-semantic compound:

巾 (“cloth”) — semantic, category of garments, head-coverings

冒 (“to cover; to risk; to face”) — phonetic, gives sound (mào / 모)

Originally referred to a cloth or kerchief tied around the head, later generalized to hats of any type.

《說文解字》 (Shuowen Jiezi ):

「帽，首衣也。从巾，冒聲。」

“帽 means a garment for the head. Formed from 巾 with 冒 as phonetic.”

모자 (帽子) — hat

방한모 (防寒帽) — winter hat

안전모 (安全帽) — safety helmet

모정 (帽頂) — top of a hat / crown of a hat

모모 (帽毛) — hat fur (rare; older texts)

Relationship with 冒:

The phonetic 冒 originally meant “to cover the face/head,” so using it as the phonetic in 帽 was semantically appropriate.

Difference between 冠 and 帽:

冠 (관) — formal headgear worn by nobility; also a verb “to crown”

帽 (모) — general headwear for common people

巾 (건) — cloths worn on the head or body

Classical citations:

《史記 · 酈生陸賈列傳》 (Records of the Grand Historian)

「楚人冠布帽。」

“The people of Chu wore cloth hats.”

(Shows 布帽 as an early term for cloth headwear.)

《後漢書 · 舒邵傳》 (Book of the Later Han Dynasty)

「被髮不冠帽。」

“He let his hair fall loose and did not wear a hat.”

《資治通鑑 · 唐紀》 (Zizhi Tongjian)

「賜以金冠、皮帽。」

“Bestowed upon them a golden crown and a fur hat.”

Shows early usage of different hat types: 冠 (formal crown) vs. 帽 (general headwear).