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装扮 (zhuāng bàn) — to decorate, to adorn; to dress up, to disguise oneself

Definition

Both senses are captured by 打扮 ('dress oneself up') and 装饰 ('decorate'), but 装扮 emphasizes the result — being in costume or fully adorned. Use 化妆 specifically for applying makeup.

verb
to decorateto adornto dress upto disguise oneself

Examples

  • 装扮。
    Tā yòng cǎi dài zhuāng bàn fáng jiān.
    She decorated the room with colorful ribbons.
  • ，装扮。
    Wàn shèng jié shí, hái zi men xǐ huan zhuāng bàn chéng gè zhǒng jué sè.
    On Halloween, children like to dress up as various characters.
  • 装扮，。
    Tā huā le liǎng gè xiǎo shí zhuāng bàn zì jǐ, zhǔn bèi cān jiā pài duì.
    She spent two hours dressing herself up, getting ready for the party.

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zhuāngdress
扮bànimpersonate

装 means to dress or adorn and 扮 means to impersonate; together they describe dressing up or disguising.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
分
分fēn扮bàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

扮 pairs 扌 (hand, written in full as 手) with 分, which gives its sound.

Open 扮 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9AppearanceClothing

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.