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黑衣 (hēi yī) — traditional soldier's uniform; monk's clothing

Definition

Literally 'black clothing' (黑 + 衣), 黑衣 refers to the traditional black robes or uniforms associated with specific roles in old China — chiefly soldiers and Buddhist monks. It is not a general term for everyday black clothes.

noun
traditional soldier's uniformmonk's clothing
Measure word · 件

Examples

  • ，黑衣。
    Zài gǔ shí hou, hēi yī shì shì bīng de biāo zhì.
    In ancient times, black uniforms were the soldiers' badge.
  • 黑衣。
    Nà wèi sēng rén chuān zhuó hēi yī xiū xíng.
    That monk wears black robes and practices devotion.
  • 黑衣。
    Bó wù guǎn lǐ zhǎn chū le yì xiē gǔ dài hēi yī.
    The museum displays several pieces of ancient black uniforms.

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.

黑hēiblack
衣yīclothes

“黑” gives the color and “衣” gives clothing, together meaning black garments.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 黑 seems to come from drawing a head marked with dots, usually read as facial tattoos.

Open 黑 →

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 →
Appears in
Clothing

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