盔甲
kuī jiǎ
盔甲 (kuī jiǎ) is the Chinese word for armour.
The term 盔甲 is most commonly used in historical, fantasy or gaming contexts to refer to heavy metal protective gear.
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of two characters: 盔 (kuī), meaning helmet and 甲 (jiǎ), meaning shell or armor.
Which one should you use?
The term 铠甲 is a formal way to say armour in Chinese, particularly for heavy or full body armor. The term 护甲 is a formal way to say armour, though it primarily represents protective gear.
How do you pronounce it?
kuī jiǎ
Did you know?
- The character 甲 is also the first of the ten 'Heavenly Stems' used in the traditional Chinese calendar system to track years and days.
- While 盔甲 refers to armour, the single character 甲 can also mean 'first' or 'top grade' in certain contexts, such as describing a top-tier student or a first-place ranking.
- The character 甲 in 盔甲 shares its origin with the concept of a turtle shell, which is why the word for armour carries a biological connotation of a hard outer casing.
Examples in context
- 他们穿上了厚实的盔甲，准备迎战敌人。They put on thick armor and prepared to fight against the enemy.
- 看那个角色穿着酷炫的装甲，真帅啊！Look at that character wearing cool armor. He looks so cool!
Example conversation
Two friends are visiting a history museum.
- 梓涵 Zihan你看，这件盔甲很精美。Nǐ kàn, zhè jiàn kuījiǎ hěn jīngměi.Look, this piece of armour is exquisite.
- 浩然 Haoran确实，细节非常精致。Quèshí, xìjié fēicháng jīngzhì.Indeed, the details are very fine.
- 梓涵 Zihan那时候的人怎么穿盔甲？Nà shíhou de rén zěnme chuān kuījiǎ?How did people wear armour back then?
- 浩然 Haoran我觉得应该很麻烦。Wǒ juéde yīnggāi hěn máfan.I think it must have been very troublesome.
