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牛仔裤 (niú zǎi kù) — jeans

Definition

noun
jeans
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 牛仔裤。
    Wǒ xǐ huan chuān zhè tiáo niú zǎi kù.
    I like to wear this pair of jeans.
  • 牛仔裤。
    Tā mǎi le sān tiáo niú zǎi kù.
    He bought three pairs of jeans.
  • 牛仔裤。
    Zhè tiáo niú zǎi kù de yán sè hěn hǎo kàn.
    This pair of jeans has a nice color.

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.

牛仔
牛niúcow仔zǎiyoung person
偏正Modifier + head
裤kùtrousers

牛仔 evokes a cowboy style, and 裤 is trousers, giving jeans.

Characters in this word

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

牛 is drawn as a bull's head, with two horns and two ears.

Open 牛 →

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
人人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
子
子zǐ仔zǎi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

仔 puts 人 (person) next to 子, which gives the sound.

Open 仔 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Clothing

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