装装 (zhuāng zhuāng) — to pretend a bit; to feign for show

Definition

装装 (zhuāng zhuang) is the reduplicated, lighter, more playful form of 装 — 'to pretend a little, put on a show' — often implying the act is short or half-hearted.

verb

to pretend a bitto feign for show

Examples

装装。
Tā zhī huì zhuāng zhuāng yàng zi.
He only knows how to put on a show.
装装，。
Nǐ kuài bié zhuāng zhuāng le, wǒ zǎo jiù kàn jiàn nǐ le.
Stop pretending — I saw you a long time ago.
，装装。
Tā míng míng zhī dào, què gù yì zhuāng zhuāng hú tu.
She clearly knows, but deliberately acts confused.

Origin

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

装zhuāngpretend

The repeated 装 suggests a brief or light act of pretending.

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.

壯衣裝

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 →