服装
Meaning in Englishclothes, attire
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
服装 (fukusou) means the clothes or overall outfit a person wears and the style in which they are presented; it refers to a person's dress, including formality, coordination, and suitability for an occasion or social context.
Main meanings
- 1. The specific outfit or set of garments chosen for an event or situation.
- 2. The written or spoken dress code specifying what is appropriate.
- 3. Stage or performance costumes and theatrical attire distinct from everyday wear.
- 4. A general sense of appearance or sartorial presentation, emphasizing how clothing communicates social or professional signals.
How to use it
Used in spoken and written Japanese to talk about what someone is wearing, to specify dress codes on invitations or job postings, and in descriptions of fashion, uniforms, or costumes; it appears in formal contexts (business dress codes, official guidelines) as well as neutral contexts (everyday descriptions, wardrobe discussions).
Variants and close terms
- 衣服 (ifuku) - clothing, garments
- 衣装 (ishou) - costume, stage or special-occasion attire
- 服 (fuku) - clothes (general)
- 着こなし (kikonashi) - how one wears or styles clothes (styling)
- 裸 (hadaka) - naked (antonym)
Composition
- 服 (fuku): clothing, garments; historically associated with dressing or submission in older compounds.
- 装 (sou): to dress, equip, or adorn; implies putting on attire or arranging appearance.
- Together the characters form a compound meaning the state or set of clothing and how one is dressed.
Origin
The compound originates from Sino-Japanese vocabulary used in classical texts to describe dress and ornamentation; its use evolved over centuries and became standard in modern Japanese to discuss personal attire and formal/informal dress codes, especially as Western-style clothing and formalized dress conventions entered Japan during the Meiji period.
Word class
noun (名詞 / meishi)