衣冠楚楚

Chinese

		hat and clothes; dress; attire	neat and tidy; delicate; dainty
simp. and trad. (衣冠楚楚)		衣冠	楚楚

Etymology

From the Classic of Poetry, poem 150 (《詩經·曹風·蜉蝣》):

蜉蝣之羽，衣裳楚楚。
心之憂矣，於我歸處。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]

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蜉蝣之羽，衣裳楚楚。
心之忧矣，于我归处。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Fúyóu zhī yǔ, yīshāng chǔchǔ.
Xīn zhī yōu yǐ, yú wǒ guī chǔ. [Pinyin]

The wings of the ephemera, Are robes, bright and splendid.
My heart is grieved; Would they but come and abide with me!

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yīguānchǔchǔ

  (Zhuyin): ㄧ ㄍㄨㄢ ㄔㄨˇ ㄔㄨˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ji¹ gun² co² co²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yīguānchǔchǔ [Phonetic: yīguānchúchǔ]
    • Zhuyin: ㄧ ㄍㄨㄢ ㄔㄨˇ ㄔㄨˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yiguanchǔchǔ
    • Wade–Giles: i¹-kuan¹-chʻu³-chʻu³
    • Yale: yī-gwān-chǔ-chǔ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: iguanchuuchuu
    • Palladius: игуаньчучу (iguanʹčuču)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i⁵⁵ ku̯än⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ji¹ gun² co² co²
    • Yale: yī gún chó chó
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ji¹ gun² tso² tso²
    • Guangdong Romanization: yi¹ gun² co² co²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jiː⁵⁵ kuːn³⁵ t͡sʰɔː³⁵ t͡sʰɔː³⁵/

Idiom

衣冠楚楚

1. immaculately dressed; well-groomed; dapper

Synonyms

• (Hokkien) 撆紮／撆扎