胸罩 (xiōng zhào) — bra | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A straightforward, neutral noun for 'bra.' In everyday speech many people also just say 内衣 or 乳罩; 文胸 is the more commercial/retail term you'll see in stores.

noun

bra

Measure word · 件

Examples

胸罩。
Tā mǎi le yí jiàn xīn de xiōng zhào.
She bought a new bra.
胸罩。
Zhè zhǒng xiōng zhào chuān qǐ lái hěn shū fu.
This kind of bra is very comfortable to wear.
胸罩。
Shāng diàn lǐ yǒu hěn duō bù tóng yán sè de xiōng zhào.
The store has many bras in different colors.

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.

胸 is the chest and 罩 is a cover, so 胸罩 is a cover for the chest.

Characters in this word

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

肉肉ròumeat

Sound part声符shēngfú

匈

匈xiōng胸xiōng

Same sound today

胸 adds 肉 (meat/flesh) to the original form 匈, which provides the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

罒卓罩

Meaning part形符xíngfú

罒Written in full as网wǎng

Sound part声符shēngfú

卓

卓zhuó罩zhào

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

罩 combines 罒, a form of 网 “net”, with 卓, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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