套裙 (tào qún) — women's suit (jacket and matching skirt); matching skirt set

Definition

noun
women's suit (jacket and matching skirt)matching skirt set
Measure word · 套

Examples

  • 。
    Tā mǎi le yí tào tào qún qù miàn shì.
    She bought a suit for the interview.
  • 套裙。
    Zhè jiàn tào qún shì sī chóu zuò de.
    This suit is made of silk.
  • 套裙。
    Tā měi tiān shàng bān dōu chuān tào qún.
    She wears a suit to work every day.

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.

套tàomatching set
裙qúnskirt

套 as a matching set and 裙 as skirt describe a coordinated skirt suit.

Characters in this word

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

  • 大大dàlarge
  • 長長chánglong

套 is made from 大 (large) and 長 (long), originally for something long, with some reference to hair; it later came to mean a cover or a linked group.

Open 套 →

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
衤Written in full as衣yīclothing
Sound part声符shēngfú
君
君jūn裙qún
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

裙 pairs 衤, a narrow form of 衣 meaning clothing, with 君, which gives the sound.

Open 裙 →

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