套服 (tào fú) — suit (of clothing) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

suit (of clothing)

Measure word · 套

套服。
Tā jīn tiān chuān le yì shēn tào fú.
He wore a suit today.
套服。
Zhè jiàn tào fú shì dìng zuò de.
This suit is custom-made.
套服。
Kāi huì de shí hou yào chuān tào fú.
You need to wear a suit when attending a meeting.

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.

套tàomatching set

服fúclothing

套 as a matching set and 服 as clothing combine to mean a coordinated suit.

Characters in this word

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

套 is made from 大 (large) and 長 (long), originally for something long, with some reference to hair; it later came to mean a cover or a linked group.

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.