工装 (gōng zhuāng) — work clothes; workwear

Definition

Refers specifically to the clothing worn for work, such as uniforms or protective workwear. Distinct from 工作服, which can be broader and more formal.

noun
work clothesworkwear
Measure word · 套

Examples

  • 工装。
    Tā měi tiān chuān zhuó gōng zhuāng qù shàng bān.
    He wears work clothes to work every day.
  • 工装，。
    Zhè zhǒng gōng zhuāng hěn nài zāng, shì hé gōng dì.
    This kind of work clothes is very stain-resistant, suitable for construction sites.
  • 工装。
    Gōng sī gěi yuán gōng fā le xīn de gōng zhuāng.
    The company issued new work clothes to the employees.

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.

工gōngwork
装zhuāngclothing

工 names work and 装 names clothing, giving clothes worn for work.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 工 is a picture of a bladed tool used to plow ground or mark a border; some read it as a carpenter's square.

Open 工 →

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 →

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