Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 褲子 / 裤子 | kùzi |
| 長褲 / 长裤 | chángkù |
裤子 is the most standard and common word for pants in Mandarin Chinese. It covers trousers of any kind in everyday speech.
What does it mean word for word?
The character 褲 (kù) is the core part that means pants. The ending 子 (zi) is a common noun suffix in Mandarin and adds no extra meaning here.
Which one should you use?
褲子 is the general word for pants, while 長褲 / 长裤 (chángkù) means long pants in particular, as opposed to shorts. The word for shorts is 短褲 / 短裤 (duǎnkù). For a cute or playful tone, some people say 裤裤.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some regions, such as Beijing, people may pronounce 裤子 as 裤子儿, with the typical Beijing final r sound.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you count pants, use the measure word 條 (tiáo), simplified 条, which is used for long, thin objects.
How do you pronounce it?
褲子 is pronounced kùzi in pinyin, with a falling tone on the first syllable and a light, unstressed second syllable.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not count pants with a general measure word. Pants take 條 (tiáo), the measure word for long, thin things.
Did you know?
- The measure word 條 (tiáo) used for 褲子 is also used for rivers, dragons, and fish. This reflects a linguistic pattern where long, flexible, or winding objects share the same classifier.
- While English speakers use the plural 'pants', the Chinese word 褲子 is grammatically singular and does not change form whether you are talking about one pair or ten.
- In certain traditional Chinese operas, the specific cut or style of a character's 褲子 can instantly tell the audience if the person is a scholar or a warrior.
Examples in context
- 我穿上了一条裤子。I put on a pair of pants.
- 夏天我喜欢穿短裤，冬天则穿长裤。In summer, I like to wear shorts, while in winter, I wear long pants.
- 我刚买了一条新裤子儿。I just bought a new pair of pants.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “pants” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
