妆

妝
zhuāng
noun #5,095

Meanings

  1. 1 makeup
  2. 2 cosmetics
  3. 3 adornment

Examples

HSK 2
Tā de zhuāng huà de hěn hǎokàn.
Her makeup looks beautiful.
HSK 5
Tā měitiān dōu huàzhuāng.
She puts on makeup every day.

Tips

usage
Often appears in compounds: 化妆 (to put on makeup), 卸妆 (to remove makeup), 妆容 (makeup look).
memory
女 (woman) + 丬 (bed radical) = a woman adorning herself. Think of getting ready at a vanity.

Components

radical
女 nǚ
woman
Woman radical on the right - the indexing radical, picturing a kneeling figure with arms folded forward. It supplies meaning: 妆 is the make-up and adornment a woman applies (化妆 to put on makeup, 嫁妆 dowry, 卸妆 take off makeup). Same radical heads the broader female-related family of 妈, 姐, 妹, 婚.
phonetic
丬 qiáng
split-wood; bed-side
丬 on the left - the simplified form of 爿, originally a vertical wooden plank seen from the side (the half of 木 split lengthwise). Supplies the sound, drifting to zhuāng. The traditional 妝 had the fuller 爿; the 1956 reform reduced it to 丬. Same phonetic stem also feeds 壮 (robust), 装 (dress), 状 (form).

Stroke Order

妆 zhuāng