红衣 (hóng yī) — red clothes | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

red clothes

Measure word · 件

Examples

红衣。
Tā jīn tiān chuān le yí jiàn hóng yī.
She wore a piece of red clothes today.
红衣。
Nà jiàn hóng yī hěn piào liang.
That red clothing is very pretty.
红衣。
Shāng diàn lǐ yǒu hěn duō hóng yī.
The store has a lot of red clothes.

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.

衣yīclothes

'红' as red and '衣' as clothes combine to mean red clothing.

Characters in this word

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 紅; 红 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

工gōng紅hóng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 紅 puts 糸 (silk) next to 工, which gives the sound; the simplified 红 is a later shorthand.

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.

Appears in

Colors Clothing

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