裤兜 (kù dōu) — pants pocket, trouser pocket

Definition

noun

pants pockettrouser pocket

Measure word · 个

裤兜。
Wǒ de shǒu jī zài kù dōu lǐ.
My phone is in my pants pocket.
裤兜，。
Tā tāo le tāo kù dōu, fā xiàn qián bāo bú jiàn le.
He felt his pocket and found his wallet was missing.
裤兜，。
Zhè tiáo kù zi de kù dōu hěn shēn, kě yǐ fàng hěn duō dōng xī.
The pockets on these pants are deep and can hold a lot of things.

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.

裤kùtrousers

裤 'trousers' and 兜 'pocket' combine to mean a pocket on trousers.

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.

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.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

兜 combines 𠑹, a cover, with 皃, a head, to picture a helmet.