着

When used as a counter, "chaku" is specifically employed for items of clothing that are worn as a complete set or outer garments, such as suits, coats, jackets, and dresses. It differs from "mai" (枚), which is used for flat objects or single pieces of fabric like a single T-shirt or a handkerchief. While a T-shirt can be counted with "mai," a full suit must be counted with "chaku."

As a noun, "chaku" is rarely used in isolation to mean "clothing" in modern daily conversation. Instead, it appears most frequently in the context of traditional Japanese clothing (kimono), such as in the term "kitsuke" (着付け), referring to the art of dressing in a kimono. In general contexts, the word "fuku" (服) is far more common for "clothes."