休闲服 (xiū xián fú) — casual wear; leisurewear; sportswear

Definition

noun
casual wearleisurewearsportswear
Measure word · 件

Examples

  • 休闲服。
    Wǒ mǎi le yí tào xiū xián fú.
    I bought a set of casual wear.
  • 休闲服，。
    Zhè xiē xiū xián fú dōu shì mián zhì de, chuān zhuó hěn shū fu.
    These casual clothes are all cotton, very comfortable to wear.
  • 休闲服。
    Yùn dòng shí chuān xiū xián fú zuì fāng biàn.
    When exercising, wearing casual wear is most convenient.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

休闲leisure
休xiūrest闲xiánleisure
联合Side by side
服fúclothes

休 and 闲 both convey rest and leisure, and 服 names the clothing worn for such occasions.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

休 pairs 人 (man) with 木 (tree), showing a person leaning against a tree to rest.

Open 休 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 閒; 闲 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 閒 puts 月 (moon) inside 門 (door), as if moonlight peeks through a door; this picture gives the idea of a gap or space. The simplified 闲 is a later abbreviation.

Open 闲 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
凡凡fántray
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠬝
𠬝𠬝服fú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 服, the part 𠬝 was the original picture for 'to subdue'; the added left part 凡, a tray, later changed shape.

Open 服 →

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