西装
xī zhuāng · HSK 5
suit
🤵 西装 = west/Western + clothing/attire
西 means west/Western and 装 means clothing or outfit, so 西装 literally reads as Western-style clothing — the standard Chinese term for a business suit.
西 — top 覀 (cover) + bottom 儿 (legs); originally a bird in nest
Originally a pictograph of a bird settling into its nest at dusk. Because birds return to roost when the sun sets in the west, the character was borrowed to mean 'west.' The original 'nest' meaning was later written with 棲/栖.
装 — clothes 衣 + strong 壮 (phonetic)
装 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The bottom 衣 ('clothes') gives the meaning, since the original sense was packing or dressing—putting clothes or goods into a bundle. The top 壮 supplies the sound. Meanings extended from 'to dress/attire' to 'to load, install, pretend'.