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装甲 (zhuāng jiǎ) — armor (protective plating, e.g., on vehicles or military equipment)

Definition

Refers specifically to the metal plating on military vehicles, ships, or aircraft — not the wearable 盔甲 (ancient body armor). Used in compound terms like 装甲车 (armored vehicle) and 装甲部队 (armored forces).

noun
armor (protective plating, e.g., on vehicles or military equipment)
Measure word · 层

Examples

  • 装甲，。
    Zhè liàng chē de zhuāng jiǎ fēi cháng hòu, kě yǐ fáng yù zǐ dàn.
    The armor on this vehicle is very thick and can block bullets.
  • 装甲。
    Tā men yán zhì le yì zhǒng xīn xíng fù hé zhuāng jiǎ.
    They developed a new type of composite armor.
  • 装甲。
    zhuāng jiǎ Bù duì yǐ jīng bù shǔ dào qián xiàn.
    The armored forces have been deployed to the front line.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

装zhuāngfit
甲jiǎarmor

装 suggests fitting or equipping and 甲 armor, giving the sense of protective armor plating.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

甲 is drawn as a hard protective shell, carapace, or scales of an animal, or as armor made of connected plates.

Open 甲 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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