‘披风’ (pī fēng) is a noun meaning 'cape' — a sleeveless outer garment that drapes over the shoulders and down the back, often fastened at the neck or chest. The character 披 (pī) means 'to drape over' or 'to wear loosely', while 风 (fēng) literally means 'wind', but here it functions phonetically and historically evokes lightness and flow — as if the garment billows in the wind. Though 风 can mislead learners into thinking this word relates to weather, it contributes no semantic meaning to 'cape'; the compound is purely lexical.

This word is used mainly in literary, historical, or stylistic contexts — such as describing costumes in period dramas, fantasy novels, or theatrical performances. It’s not common in everyday modern clothing vocabulary (where 大衣 ‘dà yī’ or 外套 ‘wài tào’ are preferred). You’ll also encounter it in idiomatic expressions like 披风戴雨 (pī fēng dài yǔ), meaning 'braving wind and rain', though that phrase uses 披风 metaphorically for enduring hardship.