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衣装 (yī zhuāng) — clothes, attire, outfit

Definition

衣装 means 'attire' or 'outfit' with a slightly literary, elegant tone — more formal than everyday 衣服. It refers to the clothing someone is wearing as a complete look, not individual garments.

noun
clothesattireoutfit
Measure word · 套

Examples

  • 衣装。
    Tā chuān zhuó yì shēn yī zhuāng qù cān jiā wǎn huì.
    He wore an outfit to attend the evening party.
  • 衣装。
    Zhè jiā diàn mài de yī zhuāng fēi cháng shí shàng.
    The clothes sold at this store are very fashionable.
  • 衣装。
    Gǔ dài zhōng guó de yī zhuāng yǔ xiàn dài yǒu hěn dà bù tóng.
    Ancient Chinese attire is very different from modern attire.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

衣yīclothes
装zhuāngattire

衣 and 装 both point to clothing or attire, so the word means clothes.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 衣 comes from an outline of the chest and upper clothing.

Open 衣 →

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 →
Appears in
Clothing

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