装 meaning and stroke order
Adornment; to adorn; dress
How to write 装, stroke by stroke
12 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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- 12
Meaning of 装
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- adornment
- to adorn
- dress
- clothing
- costume (of an actor in a play)
- to play a role
How 装 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Clothes.
衣 gives the meaning and 壮 hints at the sound.
Radical: 衣 (cloth), shared by 33 characters on this site.
How to remember 装
装 is pictophonetic: 壮 (zhuàng) on top gives the sound, and 衣 (yī, clothes) below gives the meaning. Picture a strong person 壮 putting on clothes 衣 to dress up for a role.
装 covers dressing and clothing (服装, 西装), putting things in or installing them (安装, 装修), and pretending or acting a part. Example: 他在装睡。(Tā zài zhuāng shuì.) He is pretending to be asleep.
Common mistake: Learners often write the bottom as the left-side radical 衤 instead of the full 衣. Another slip is the tone: 装 is first tone zhuāng, while its top part 壮 is fourth tone zhuàng.
Common words with 装
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 服装 | fúzhuāng | dress; clothing | HSK 3 |
| 安装 | ānzhuāng | to install; to erect | HSK 3 |
| 装置 | zhuāngzhì | to install; installation | HSK 4 |
| 装修 | zhuāngxiū | to decorate; interior decoration | HSK 4 |
| 西装 | xīzhuāng | suit; Western-style clothes | HSK 5 |
| 装饰 | zhuāngshì | to decorate; decoration | HSK 5 |
| 包装 | bāozhuāng | to wrap; to package (goods etc); packaging; packing materials | HSK 5 |
| 装备 | zhuāngbèi | equipment; to equip | HSK 6 |
| 时装 | shízhuāng | fashion; fashionable clothes | HSK 6 |
| 改装 | gǎizhuāng | to change one's costume; to repackage | HSK 6 |
| 假装 | jiǎzhuāng | to feign; to pretend | HSK 7-9 |
| 武装 | wǔzhuāng | arms; equipment | HSK 7-9 |
| 伪装 | wěizhuāng | to pretend to be (asleep etc); to disguise oneself as | HSK 7-9 |
| 装扮 | zhuāngbàn | to decorate; to adorn; to dress up; to disguise oneself | HSK 7-9 |
装 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 装
How many strokes are in 装?
装 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 装 mean?
装 (zhuāng) means adornment; to adorn; dress. A common word with it is 服装 (fúzhuāng), meaning "dress; clothing".
How do you pronounce 装?
装 is pronounced zhuāng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 装?
The radical of 装 is 衣, which carries the idea of "cloth". Dictionaries list 装 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 装?
The traditional form of 装 is 裝. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 装 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 装 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 装 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
How do you use 装 to mean pretend?
Put 装 before a verb or adjective, as in 装病 (zhuāng bìng, to fake illness) or 装不知道 (zhuāng bù zhīdào, to pretend not to know). In casual speech, 别装了 (bié zhuāng le) means stop pretending or stop showing off.
Can 装 mean to pack or load things into a container?
Yes. 装 can mean to put things into something, as in 把书装进包里 (bǎ shū zhuāng jìn bāo lǐ, put the books into the bag). It also appears in 装满 (zhuāngmǎn, to fill up).