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西装 (xī zhuāng) — suit (Western-style formal clothing)

Definition

西装 (xī zhuāng) is a Western-style suit — a matching jacket and trousers worn for formal occasions or work. The measure word 套 is used for a complete suit.

noun
suit (Western-style formal clothing)
Measure word · 套

Examples

  • 西装。
    Tā mǎi le yí tào xīn xī zhuāng cān jiā hūn lǐ.
    He bought a new suit to attend a wedding.
  • 西装。
    Zhè jiàn xī zhuāng shì yì dà lì jìn kǒu de.
    This suit is imported from Italy.
  • 西装。
    Shàng bān chuān xī zhuāng xiǎn de hěn zhèng shì.
    Wearing a suit to work looks very formal.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

西xīWestern
装zhuāngclothing

西 points to Western origin and 装 to clothing, together naming a Western-style suit.

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 →
Appears in
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