料子 (liào zi) — clothing material, fabric; timber, wood; (colloquial) makings, potential (for a role or activity)
Definition
Literally 'material', used in spoken Chinese for cloth (做衣服) and wood (做家具). The colloquial sense 那块料子 ('that kind of stuff/person') means someone's makings — natural talent for a role.
noun
clothing materialfabrictimberwood(colloquial) makingspotential (for a role or activity)
Measure word · 块
Examples
- 料子。Zhè kuài liào zi hěn shì hé zuò xià tiān de yī fu.This fabric is very suitable for making summer clothes.
- 料子。Zhè xiē liào zi kě yǐ yòng lái zuò jiā jù.These timbers can be used to make furniture.
- 料子。Tā gēn běn bú shì dāng yǎn yuán de nà kuài liào zi.He is simply not cut out to be an actor.
Appears in
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