Chapter 2 / Part 2

衣 yī Clothing

衣 yī is the clothing radical. "Clothing" is also one of the several meanings of 服 fú. The character 裝 zhuāng has two components: 壮 zhuàng, strong (the phonetic component) and the radical 衣 yī.

A sign on a clothing store will use the the formal term: 服装公司 fúzhuāng gōngsī or 服装店 fúzhuāngdiàn. Both mean "clothing store." A clothing magazine is identified as 服装杂志 fúzhuāngzázhì rather than 衣服杂志 yīfu zázhì. Formal language is preferred for store and magazine names.

However, if you want to tell your friend “I bought clothes,” it is incorrect to say "我买了一件服装” "Wǒ mǎi le yi jiàn fúzhuang." The correct spoken Chinese sentence is: “我买了一件衣服” "Wǒ mǎi le yìjian yīfu."

The informal term for "wear clothing" is 穿衣服 chuān yifu; its shūmiànyǔ equivalent is thus 着装 zhuózhuāng.

衣服 yīfú 衣 yī, clothing 服 fú, clothing	服裝 fúzhuāng 服 fú, clothing 装 zhuāng (meaning-sound character 壮 zhuàng, strong 衣 yī), clothing 服装店 fúzhuāngdiàn, clothing store 服装公司 fúzhuang gōngsī, clothing store 服装杂志 fúzhuāngzázhì, clothing magazine
穿 chuān, to wear 穿衣服 chuān yīfu, to wear clothes	着装 zhuó, to wear

西服 xīzhuāng ("western style clothing", also sometimes called 西服 xīfú),
suit

礼服 lǐfú ("ritual-clothing"),
clothing for a ceremony

便服 biànfú ("convenient-clothing"),
casual clothing

运动服 yùndòngfú ("exercise clothing"),
workout clothing

男装部 nánzhuāng bù ("men-clothing-department"),
men's clothing department

女装部 nǔzhuāng bù ("women-clothing-department"),
women's clothing department

军装 jūnzhuāng,
military uniform