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HSK 3

裤子

pants; trousers

nounneutral
4th tone
zineutral tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
kùzi
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
15
Register
neutral
Measure word

Stroke order for 裤子

裤子 is written with 15 strokes (: 12, : 3). The animation replays automatically.

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 (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 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 by character

trousers (clothing radical 衤 + phonetic 库)
+
zinoun suffix (neutral tone)
=
裤子

Memory hook: 裤 has the clothing radical 衤 on the left — anything with 衤 is something you wear.

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

一条裤子yì tiáo kùzia pair of pants
穿裤子chuān kùziput on/wear pants
牛仔裤niúzǎikùjeans
短裤duǎnkùshorts
买裤子mǎi kùzibuy pants

Synonyms

长裤chángkù

长裤 specifically means 'long pants,' used to contrast with 短裤 (shorts). 裤子 is the umbrella term that covers both.

Don't confuse 裤子 with

裙子qúnzi

裙子 is a skirt (one open piece). 裤子 has two leg openings. Both use the clothing radical and end in , which is why beginners mix them up.

(without 衤) means 'warehouse / storehouse.' only refers to pants. The clothing radical is what marks the difference.

FAQ

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