婚纱

• Pinyin: hūn shā
• Hanzi breakdown: 婚 = 女 + 昏 (woman + dusk/evening, marriage — traditional weddings occurred at dusk); 纱 = 纟+ 少 (silk/thread radical + few/thin, gauze/sheer fabric)

Meaning

A wedding dress or bridal gown; the formal white dress worn by a bride during a Western-style wedding ceremony.

Specifically refers to the Western-style white bridal gown, as opposed to traditional Chinese wedding attire such as 凤冠霞帔 or 旗袍. Has become the dominant bridal fashion in modern China. 婚纱照 (bridal photography sessions) is a major pre-wedding custom in which couples invest significantly in professional shoots at scenic locations.

Examples

1. 她在婚礼上穿着一件纯白的婚纱，裙摆绵延数米，在阳光下显得格外美丽动人。 She wore a pure white wedding gown at the ceremony, with a train that stretched several meters, looking especially beautiful in the sunlight.
2. 拍婚纱照已成为中国年轻夫妇在举行婚礼前必不可少的一项重要仪式。 Taking bridal photos has become an essential pre-wedding ritual for young couples in China.
3. 这家婚纱店的设计师为新娘量身定制每一件礼服，力求让每位新娘在婚礼上展现最美的一面。 The designers at this bridal shop custom-make each dress for the bride, striving to help every bride look her best on her wedding day.

Usage Guide

Context: weddings, fashion, culture, lifestyle

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 她特意从海外定制了一件以传统刺绣装饰的婚纱，将东方美学与西式婚礼礼服的剪裁完美融合，成为婚礼当天最令人印象深刻的亮点之一。(She specially ordered a wedding dress from abroad decorated with traditional embroidery, perfectly blending Eastern aesthetics with the cut of Western bridal gowns — one of the most memorable highlights of her wedding day.)
• 婚纱照已经发展成为一个庞大的产业，许多新人愿意花费数万元聘请专业摄影师前往风景名胜地拍摄一组精美的婚纱照留作纪念。(Bridal photography has developed into an enormous industry; many couples are willing to spend tens of thousands of yuan hiring professional photographers to travel to scenic destinations and take a set of exquisite wedding photos as a keepsake.)

Don't Say

• 婚纱 for traditional Chinese bridal attire — use 凤冠霞帔 or 旗袍; 婚纱 specifically refers to the Western-style white wedding gown, not traditional Chinese ceremonial dress

Origin & History

婚 (marriage/wedding) + 纱 (gauze/sheer fabric) — the gauzy fabric dress of a wedding; note that 婚 (marriage) originally depicted evening weddings at dusk (昏)

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal