女裤 (nǚ kù) — women's trousers

Definition

noun
women's trousers
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 女裤。
    Tā mǎi le yì tiáo nǚ kù.
    She bought a pair of women's trousers.
  • 女裤。
    Zhè tiáo nǚ kù hěn shū fu.
    These women's trousers are very comfortable.
  • 女裤。
    Tā zài shāng diàn lǐ zhǎo nǚ kù.
    She is looking for women's trousers in the store.

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.

女nǚfemale
裤kùtrousers

女 means female and 裤 means trousers, so the word denotes women's trousers.

Characters in this word

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

女 shows a woman with folded arms, kneeling or standing. In the modern form the figure faces right, and the small enclosed part is what is left of one arm.

Open 女 →

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 褲; 裤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衣衣yīclothing
Sound part声符shēngfú
庫
庫kù褲
Same sound today

The traditional form 褲 pairs 衣 (clothing) with 庫 for its sound. The simplified 裤 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 裤 →

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