长袍 (cháng páo) — long gown; robe | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

long gownrobe

Measure word · 件

Examples

长袍。
Tā chuān zhuó yí jiàn cháng páo.
He is wearing a robe.
，长袍。
Zài zhōng guó gǔ dài, rén men jīng cháng chuān cháng páo.
In ancient China, people often wore robes.
长袍。
Zhè jiàn cháng páo shì wǒ zǔ fù liú xià lái de.
This robe was left by my grandfather.

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.

长 means long and 袍 means robe, so 长袍 is a long robe.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

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

衣衣yīclothing

Sound part声符shēngfú

包

包bāo袍páo

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

袍 combines 衣, which means clothing, with 包, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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