工装裤 (gōng zhuāng kù) — overalls (a type of one-piece work garment)

Definition

noun
overalls (a type of one-piece work garment)
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 工装裤。
    Tā chuān zhuó yì tiáo lán sè gōng zhuāng kù zài xiū chē.
    He's wearing a pair of blue overalls while fixing the car.
  • 工装裤，。
    Zhè jiā diàn mài de gōng zhuāng kù zhì liàng hěn hǎo, hěn nài chuān.
    The overalls sold in this store are of good quality and very durable.
  • 工装裤，。
    Gōng rén men dōu chuān zhuó gōng zhuāng kù, fāng biàn gàn huó.
    The workers all wear overalls to make it easier to work.

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.

工装work clothing
工gōngwork装zhuāngclothing
偏正Modifier + head
裤kùpants

工装 means work clothing and 裤 means pants, giving the sense of work pants or overalls.

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 →

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 褲; 裤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衣衣yīclothing
Sound part声符shēngfú
庫
庫kù褲
Same sound today

The traditional form 褲 pairs 衣 (clothing) with 庫 for its sound. The simplified 裤 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 裤 →

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