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西装革履 (xī zhuāng gé lǚ) — (idiom) dressed in a suit and leather shoes; in formal attire

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'dressed formally in a Western suit and leather shoes,' used to describe someone looking sharp, polished, and businesslike. Implies professional, high-status attire — far more formal than just wearing a shirt or casual clothes.

idiom
dressed in a suit and leather shoesin formal attire

Examples

  • 西装革履，。
    Tā měi tiān dōu xī zhuāng gé lǚ dì chū mén shàng bān, xiǎn de tè bié zhuān yè.
    He goes to work every day in a suit and leather shoes, looking very professional.
  • 西装革履，，。
    Jù huì shàng rén rén dōu xī zhuāng gé lǚ, zhǐ yǒu wǒ chuān zhuó xiū xián zhuāng, yǒu diǎn bù hǎo yì si.
    At the party, everyone was in suits and ties, and I felt a bit embarrassed in my casual clothes.
  • 西装革履，。
    Miàn shì guān xī zhuāng gé lǚ dì zuò zài duì miàn, biǎo qíng yán sù.
    The interviewer sat across from me in a formal suit, with a serious expression.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

西装Western clothes
西xīWestern装zhuāngclothing
偏正Modifier + head
革履leather shoes
革géleather履lǚshoe
偏正Modifier + head

西装 (Western clothes) and 革履 (leather shoes) stand together for formal attire.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 西 →

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.

革 is drawn as a stretched animal hide, with the upper part as the head and the lower part as the tail and legs.

Open 革 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

Early 履 put together 眉, 頁 (a person with a prominent head), 止 (foot), and 舟 (a shoe or shoe-shaped boat).

Open 履 →
Appears in
ClothingIdioms & Set Phrases

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