裤子
pants; trousers
kùzi
What does 裤子 mean?
裤子 (kùzi) is the general Chinese word for pants or trousers — any garment with two leg holes, from jeans to sweatpants to formal slacks. The measure word is 条 (tiáo), the same one used for long, strip-shaped things: 一条裤子 (yì tiáo kùzi, 'one pair of pants'). Note that Chinese uses the singular form 一条 where English forces 'a pair of,' because 裤子 is treated as one item, not two legs.
The 子 at the end is a noun suffix with no meaning — it just makes the word two syllables, which Chinese prefers for everyday objects. Common compounds specify the type: 牛仔裤 (jeans), 短裤 (shorts), 运动裤 (sweatpants), 西裤 (dress slacks). The opposite of 裤子 in a clothing sense is 裙子 (qúnzi, skirt).
Character breakdown
trousers (clothing radical 衤 + phonetic 库)
noun suffix (neutral tone)
Memory hook: 裤 has the clothing radical 衤 on the left — anything with 衤 is something you wear.
Measure word for 裤子
Example sentences
我想买一条新裤子。
Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yì tiáo xīn kùzi.
I want to buy a new pair of pants.
spoken
这条裤子有点儿大。
Zhè tiáo kùzi yǒudiǎnr dà.
These pants are a little too big.
spoken
天冷了，他穿了长裤子。
Tiān lěng le, tā chuān le cháng kùzi.
It got cold, so he put on long pants.
neutral
我喜欢黑色的裤子。
Wǒ xǐhuan hēisè de kùzi.
I like black pants.
neutral
Common phrases with 裤子
Synonyms
长裤 specifically means 'long pants,' used to contrast with 短裤 (shorts). 裤子 is the umbrella term that covers both.