裁
cái
to cut out (as a dress)
to cut; to trim; to reduce; to diminish; to cut back (e.g. on staff); decision; judgment
Mark (十) + blade (戈) + cloth (衣) = cut fabric, cut costs, cut a verdict
A blade (戈) cuts cloth (衣) along a mark (十), producing a garment — and by extension, any act of cutting down or judging what to keep and what to remove.
她用剪刀裁了一块布来做裙子。
tā yòng jiǎn dāo cái le yī kuài bù lái zuò qún zi。
She used scissors to cut out a piece of cloth to make a skirt.
公司决定裁掉一些员工来减少开支。
gōng sī jué dìng cái diào yī xiē yuán gōng lái jiǎn shǎo kāi zhī。
The company decided to cut back some employees to reduce expenses.
Words with 裁
酌裁
zhuó cái
to consider and decide
量体裁衣
liàng tǐ cái yī
lit. to cut cloth according to the body (idiom)
霸道总裁
bà dào zǒng cái
handsome high-powered businessman (a type of character in an eponymous genre of romantic fiction who typically has a soft spot for a girl of lower social status)
体裁
tǐ cái
genre
主裁
zhǔ cái
(sports) to referee; to umpire; to officiate
主裁判
zhǔ cái pàn
(sports) referee; umpire
仲裁
zhòng cái
arbitration
别出心裁
bié chū xīn cái
to hit on sth new (idiom); to display originality
制裁
zhì cái
to punish
剪裁
jiǎn cái
to tailor (clothes)
副总裁
fù zǒng cái
vice-chairman (of an organization)
核裁军
hé cái jūn
nuclear disarmament