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便装 (biàn zhuāng) — everyday dress, casual clothes (as opposed to formal wear or uniform)

Definition

Literally 'convenient dress' (biàn = convenient), a set of casual clothes worn instead of formal wear (正装) or a uniform. Compare with the everyday 休闲装.

noun
everyday dresscasual clothes (as opposed to formal wear or uniform)
Measure word · 身

Examples

  • ，便装。
    Jīn tiān gōng sī méi yǒu yāo qiú chuān zhèng zhuāng, dà jiā dōu chuān le biàn zhuāng.
    The company didn't require formal wear today, so everyone wore casual clothes.
  • 便装，。
    Tā huàn le yì shēn biàn zhuāng, kàn qǐ lái qīng sōng duō le.
    He changed into a set of casual clothes and looked much more relaxed.
  • 便装，。
    Zhè cì lǚ xíng wǒ dài de dōu shì biàn zhuāng, fāng biàn huó dòng.
    For this trip I only brought casual clothes, which are convenient for moving around.

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.

便biànconvenient
装zhuāngclothing

便 gives the sense of convenient or everyday, while 装 refers to clothing, making casual dress.

Characters in this word

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

便 pairs 亻 (person) with 更 (to change), showing a person changing posture to become comfortable.

Open 便 →

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
Clothing

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