女扮男装
nǚ bàn nán zhuāng
(of a woman) to disguise herself as a man
Character by character
女nǚ
woman
woman
扮bàn
dress up as
dress up as
男nán
man
man
装zhuāng
attire
attire
Example
古代的故事里，花木兰女扮男装，替年老的父亲去当兵。
In the old story, Hua Mulan disguises herself as a man and joins the army in place of her elderly father.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Used of stories, history and film, where women dress as men to study, fight or travel: 女扮男装去读书, 女扮男装上战场. The opposite is 男扮女装, as with the men who played women’s roles in Peking opera.
Learn this in Lesson 242 · HSK 9+: 《梁祝》小提琴协奏曲 (The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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