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装修 (zhuāng xiū) — to renovate; to decorate; to fit up (a room, house, apartment, etc.)

Definition

装修 means to renovate or remodel a home — walls, floors, wiring, the works. Compared with 装饰 (just decorating the surface look) and 翻新 (revamping something worn), 装修 covers the heavier, structural work.

verb
to renovateto decorateto fit up (a room, house, apartment, etc.)

Examples

  • 装修。
    Tā men qǐng le gōng rén lái zhuāng xiū fáng zi.
    They hired workers to renovate the house.
  • 装修，。
    Chú fáng zhuāng xiū hǎo le, kàn qǐ lái zhēn piào liang.
    The kitchen has been renovated; it looks really beautiful.
  • 。
    Zhè tào fáng zi jīn nián yǐ jīng zhuāng le yí cì xiū.
    This apartment has had one round of renovation this year.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

装zhuāngdecorate
修xiūrepair

装 (decorate) and 修 (repair) describe working on a room or building, together meaning to renovate.

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 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 →

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
彡彡shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
攸
攸yōu修xiū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

修 is built from 攸, which gives the sound, and 彡, a set of three strokes that shows the meaning.

Open 修 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Home & Housing

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