古装 (gǔ zhuāng) — ancient-style costume / ancient clothing (typically from historical periods)

Definition

noun
ancient-style costume / ancient clothing (typically from historical periods)
Measure word · 套

Examples

  • 古装。
    Tā chuān zhuó yí jiàn piào liang de gǔ zhuāng cān jiā wǎn huì.
    She wore a beautiful ancient costume to the party.
  • 古装。
    Hěn duō nián qīng rén xǐ huan chuān gǔ zhuāng pāi zhào.
    Many young people like to wear ancient costumes for photos.
  • 古装。
    Zhè bù gǔ zhuāng piàn de lì shǐ bèi jǐng fēi cháng zhēn shí.
    The historical background of this ancient-costume film is very realistic.

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.

古gǔancient
装zhuāngclothing

古 means ancient and 装 means clothing or costume, so 古装 denotes ancient-style dress.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

One reading of 古 sees a shield-like shape above an open mark, showing strength and firmness. Another sees a person spitting out bad-tasting food.

Open 古 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 裝; 装 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衣衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
壯
壯zhuàng裝zhuāng
Same sound today

The traditional form 裝 pairs 衣 (clothes) with 壯 as a sound part; this story is about 裝, not the simplified 装.

Open 装 →

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