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面料 (miàn liào) — fabric, textile material (for clothing)

Definition

Fabric or textile material used for making clothes. Often used interchangeably with 布料, but tends to sound more technical or commercial (e.g., garment industry, product descriptions).

noun
fabrictextile material (for clothing)
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 面料，。
    Zhè zhǒng miàn liào hěn róu ruǎn, shì hé zuò xià tiān de yī fu.
    This fabric is very soft, suitable for making summer clothes.
  • 面料。
    Zhè jiàn dà yī de miàn liào shì yáng máo de.
    The material of this coat is wool.
  • 面料。
    Wǒ zài bù liào shì chǎng mǎi le jǐ mǐ miàn liào.
    I bought a few meters of fabric at the fabric market.

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.

面miànsurface
料liàomaterial

面料 names the surface material of clothing, hence fabric or textile.

Characters in this word

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

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.

Open 面 →

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

料 combines 米 (rice) with 斗 (a dipper), showing rice being measured or gauged.

Open 料 →
Appears in
Clothing

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