Word
洋服
Meaning in EnglishWestern-style clothes, clothes
Animated kanji stroke order
Sentence
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Word context
What it means
洋服 means Western-style clothing; it refers to garments worn in Western fashion and is used to distinguish non-Japanese styles from traditional Japanese wear.
Main meanings
- Western-style clothing as a category distinct from traditional Japanese attire
- clothing and apparel in everyday contexts
- fashion contexts referencing Western styles or imported fashions
How to use it
Used in casual and formal speech to refer to Western style garments; common in phrases describing clothing choices, stores, or fashion coordination; it contrasts with 和服.
Variants and close terms
- 和服 — wa-fuku
- 洋装 — yōsō
- 西洋風の服 — seiyōfū no fuku
Composition
- 洋: Western
- 服: clothing
- When combined, they denote clothing associated with Western fashion
Etymology
よう + ふく → ようふく a straightforward on'yomi compound with no irregular phonetic changes.
Origin
Meiji period onward, Western clothing was introduced as part of modernization; adoption occurred gradually in urban centers, schools, and official contexts.
Word class
Noun (名詞)
Word
Related words by kanji and components
N1
軍服
gumpuku
military or naval uniform
N1
制服
seifuku
uniform
N1
征服
seifuku
conquest, subjugation, overcoming
N1
不服
fufuku
dissatisfaction, discontent, disapproval
N1
洋風
youfuu
western style
N2
海洋
kaiyou
ocean
N2
洋品店
youhinten
clothes store
N2
和服
wafuku
Japanese clothes
N3
衣服
ifuku
clothes, clothing, garments
Kanji