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装备 (zhuāng bèi) — to equip, to outfit; (noun) equipment, gear

Definition

装备 (zhuāngbèi) can be both a verb ('to equip') and a noun ('equipment, gear'), often for personal or tactical gear. Compared to 设备, it's more general and not tied to fixed facilities.

verb
to equipto outfit
noun
equipmentgear
Measure word · 套

Examples

  • 。
    Zhè tào zhuāng bèi fēi cháng guì.
    This set of equipment is very expensive.
  • 装备。
    Tā men zhuāng bèi le liǎng liàng xīn qì chē.
    They equipped two new cars.
  • 装备。
    Zhè xiē zhuāng bèi xū yào cháng cháng jiǎn chá.
    This equipment needs to be checked often.

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zhuāngfit out
备bèiprepare

装 and 备 both express fitting out or preparing, together meaning equipment or to equip.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 備; 备 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 備 shows a person carrying a quiver, matching the meaning 'ready; prepared'; the simplified 备 is a later abbreviation.

Open 备 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Miscellaneous Objects5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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