便服 (biàn fú) — everyday clothes, civilian clothes (as opposed…

Definition

noun

everyday clothescivilian clothes (as opposed to formal wear or uniform)

Measure word · 件

便服。
Zhōu mò tā chuān biàn fú qù guàng jiē.
He wears everyday clothes to go shopping on weekends.
便服。
Gōng sī yǔn xǔ chuān biàn fú shàng bān.
The company allows wearing civilian clothes to work.
便服，。
Tā de biàn fú hěn shū fu, shì hé zài jiā chuān.
Her everyday clothes are very comfortable and suitable for wearing at home.

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.

便biànconvenient

服fúclothes

便 means convenient or everyday, and 服 means clothing, giving everyday clothes.

Characters in this word

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

亻更便

便 pairs 亻 (person) with 更 (to change), showing a person changing posture to become comfortable.

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

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.

Appears in