内衣 (nèi yī) — underwear, undergarment

Definition

noun
underwearundergarment
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 内衣
    Wǒ mǎi le yí jiàn chún mián nèi yī.
    I bought a piece of pure cotton underwear.
  • 内衣
    Zhè zhǒng nèi yī shì hé dōng tiān chuān.
    This kind of underwear is suitable for winter-friendly.
  • 内衣
    Tā xǐ huan zài zhuān mài diàn mǎi nèi yī.
    She likes to buy underwear at specialty stores.

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.

nèiinner
clothing

内 marks inner and 衣 is clothing, giving garments worn next to the body.

Characters in this word

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

  • to enter
  • jiōnghouse

The shape shows 入 entering into 冂, a house, so it pictures bringing something indoors, giving the sense inside.

Open 内 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 衣 comes from an outline of the chest and upper clothing.

Open 衣 →

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