装 meaning in English

zhuāng

adornment; to adorn

HSK 2verbTraditional 裝12 strokes

Meaning of 装

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

zhuāng

adornment
to adorn
dress
clothing
costume (of an actor in a play)
to play a role
to pretend
to install

How to use 装

As a verb, 装 often means to pretend, to load or pack something into a container, or to install. It also appears in many clothing words like 服装 (fúzhuāng) and 西装 (xīzhuāng). Example: 他在装睡。(Tā zài zhuāng shuì.) He is pretending to sleep.

装 has 衣 (yī, clothing) at the bottom and 壮 (zhuàng, strong) on top, which also hints at the sound. Think of a strong person putting on clothes or a costume, which links to dressing up, pretending, and fitting things in.

Common mistake: Learners often write 装 and 壮 (zhuàng, strong) the same way or give 装 the fourth tone. 装 has 衣 underneath and is first tone, zhuāng, while 壮 has no 衣 and is fourth tone.

装 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

他tā装zhuāng作zuò没méi事shì发fā生shēng，继jì续xù说shuō他tā的de话huà。

He went on talking as though nothing had happened.

让ràng我wǒ们men假jiǎ装zhuāng是shì外wài星xīng人rén。

Let's pretend we're aliens.

你nǐ没méi必bì要yào假jiǎ装zhuāng你nǐ不bú会huì讲jiǎng法fǎ语yǔ。

There's no need to pretend you don't speak French.

这zhè男nán人rén试shì着zhe安ān装zhuāng他tā自zì己jǐ的de天tiān线xiàn。

The man tried to install his own antenna.

我wǒ在zài打dǎ开kāi包bāo装zhuāng时shí遇yù到dào了le麻má烦fán。

I had trouble unwrapping the package.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

装 zhuāng · adornment · 12 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 装.

服装	fúzhuāng	dress; clothing
安装	ānzhuāng	to install; to erect
装置	zhuāngzhì	to install; installation
装修	zhuāngxiū	to decorate; interior decoration
西装	xīzhuāng	suit; Western-style clothes
装饰	zhuāngshì	to decorate; decoration
包装	bāozhuāng	to wrap; to package (goods etc); packaging; packing materials
装备	zhuāngbèi	equipment; to equip
时装	shízhuāng	fashion; fashionable clothes
改装	gǎizhuāng	to change one's costume; to repackage
假装	jiǎzhuāng	to feign; to pretend
武装	wǔzhuāng	arms; equipment

Questions about 装

What does 装 mean?

装 (zhuāng) means "adornment; to adorn" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 装?

装 is made of 1 character: 装 (12 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.

Is 装 an HSK word?

Yes. 装 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 装 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 装 is written 裝.

How do I say to pack things into a bag with 装?

Use 装 with 进 or 在, as in 把书装进包里 (bǎ shū zhuāng jìn bāo lǐ), put the books into the bag. 装 here means to load or fill a container.

What does 装 mean in slang like 别装了?

别装了 (bié zhuāng le) means stop pretending or stop acting. In casual speech 装 can also mean showing off, so the tone depends on context.