Learn Hardcore Chinese: jīntiān tā chuān le yìtiáo lánsè de qúnzi, kànqǐlái hěn piàoliang. - Today she is wearing a blue skirt; she looks very pretty.

她穿了一条蓝色的裙子。
→ The action of putting on the skirt is seen as completed (she got dressed in it).
她穿一条蓝色的裙子。
→ Could be a general description (she wears this kind of skirt / she is wearing a blue skirt now), without highlighting the change or completion.

In practice, with a time word like 今天, 穿了 strongly suggests a specific event that happened today. Without 了, it’s more neutral or descriptive. Both can be used, but 了 emphasizes the event (“today, she put on…”).

Why is the measure word 条 used with 裙子? I thought 件 is used for clothes.

Chinese has many different measure words (classifiers), and clothes use more than one:

条 is used for long, narrow, flexible things:
- 一条裙子 (a skirt)
- 一条裤子 (a pair of pants)
- 一条围巾 (a scarf)
- 一条鱼 (a fish)
件 is mainly for upper-body clothing and general garments:
- 一件衣服 (a piece of clothing)
- 一件衬衫 (a shirt)
- 一件毛衣 (a sweater)

For 裙子, the standard, natural classifier is 条:
一条裙子 is what native speakers normally say.

You might hear 一件裙子 in some contexts, but it’s much less common; stick with 一条裙子.

What is the function of 的 in 蓝色的裙子? Why do we need it?

的 links a modifier (like an adjective or descriptive phrase) to a noun.
Structure here: 蓝色的 + 裙子

蓝色的裙子 = “the skirt that is blue in color”

So:

蓝色 = “blue color” (literally “blue color” – behaves like a noun)
的 = turns that into something like “blue-colored”
裙子 = skirt

Together: “blue-colored skirt.”

Without 的 here (蓝色裙子), it sounds incomplete or unnatural because 蓝色 is two syllables and feels like a noun. Multi-syllable modifiers normally need 的 before a noun.

Can I say 蓝裙子 instead of 蓝色的裙子? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say 蓝裙子, and it’s correct. The differences:

蓝色的裙子
- Literally: “skirt of blue color”
- 蓝色 is “blue color” (noun-ish) + 的
  - 裙子
- A bit more formal/complete; very common in neutral or written style.
蓝裙子
- Here 蓝 directly acts as an adjective: “blue skirt.”
- Slightly shorter and more colloquial.
蓝的裙子
- Also possible: “the skirt that is blue (one)”
- Often used when contrasting with other colors: e.g. 不是红的，是蓝的裙子 (“not the red one, the blue skirt”).

All are grammatical, but 蓝色的裙子 is the most standard in a sentence like this.

What does 看起来 mean exactly? How is it different from just 看?

看起来 means “(to) look / seem / appear (to be)” and introduces a subjective impression based on appearance.

Structure: Subject + 看起来 + Adjective
- 她看起来很漂亮。= She looks (seems) pretty.

看 by itself normally means “to look, to watch, to see”, focusing on the physical act:

我看电视。= I watch TV.
看那边！= Look over there!

So:

她看起来很漂亮。 = She looks pretty (she appears pretty to me).
她看很漂亮。 = wrong in this sense; sounds like “she looks (at something) very prettily,” which is not the intended meaning.

Use 看起来 when you want to say “seems/looks (adjective).”

Why is there 很 before 漂亮? Does it always mean “very”?

In this sentence, 很 does not strongly mean “very”; it’s often more like a “default link” before an adjective.

Basic idea:

In Chinese, a bare “Subj + Adjective” (她漂亮) can sound like a contrastive statement:
- “She is pretty (as opposed to others who aren’t).”

To make it sound like a neutral description, Chinese usually adds a degree adverb like 很, 挺, 非常, etc.:

她很漂亮。= She is pretty. (neutral description; “very” is often weak or even not felt)
看起来很漂亮。= It/She looks pretty. (again, neutral)

Yes, 很 can mean “very,” especially when emphasized in speech or context, but in everyday sentences like this it often just smooths the grammar and softens that contrastive feeling.

You can say 看起来漂亮, and it is grammatical, but 看起来很漂亮 sounds more natural in many contexts.

Why isn’t 她 repeated after the comma? Why not …, 她看起来很漂亮。?

Chinese often omits the subject in the second clause when it is obvious and the same as the subject in the first clause.

Full version (still correct):
今天她穿了一条蓝色的裙子，她看起来很漂亮。
Natural version with omission:
今天她穿了一条蓝色的裙子，看起来很漂亮。

Because it’s clear we are still talking about her, repeating 她 is not necessary. This kind of omission is very common in spoken and written Chinese when clauses are closely connected and share the same subject.

What’s the difference between 穿 and 戴? Why use 穿 here?

Both mean “to wear,” but they’re used with different things:

穿 is for clothing you put on your body:
- 穿裙子 (wear a skirt)
- 穿裤子 (wear pants)
- 穿衣服 (wear clothes)
- 穿鞋 (wear shoes)
戴 is for accessories you put on your head/hands/face, etc.:
- 戴帽子 (wear a hat)
- 戴眼镜 (wear glasses)
- 戴手表 (wear a watch)
- 戴项链 (wear a necklace)

Since 裙子 (skirt) is a piece of clothing, 穿裙子 is correct, not 戴裙子.

Could we say 穿着一条蓝色的裙子 instead of 穿了一条蓝色的裙子? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are possible, but they focus on slightly different things:

穿了一条蓝色的裙子
- Uses 了 (perfective).
- Emphasizes the completed action of putting it on (the event).
- “She put on / is wearing a blue skirt (today).”
穿着一条蓝色的裙子
- Uses 着 (durative).
- Emphasizes the ongoing state of wearing it.
- “She is (currently) wearing a blue skirt.”

In your full sentence:

今天她穿了一条蓝色的裙子，看起来很漂亮。
Sounds like: Today she got dressed in a blue skirt, and she looks pretty.
今天她穿着一条蓝色的裙子，看起来很漂亮。
Emphasizes more the current state: She is in a blue skirt right now, and she looks pretty.

In casual description of what someone is wearing now, both are quite common; context usually makes the nuance clear.

Why is 一 pronounced yì here (一条 yì tiáo) and not yī?

This is because of tone sandhi (tone change) rules for 一:

Basic tone of 一 is first tone: yī.
But:
- Before a 4th tone syllable, it usually becomes 2nd tone (yí):
  - 一个 (yí gè)
- Before a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd tone syllable, it usually becomes 4th tone (yì):
  - 一条 (yì tiáo) — 条 is 2nd tone
  - 一年 (yì nián)
  - 一百 (yì bǎi)

So 一条裙子 is pronounced yì tiáo qúnzi, and that’s why you see yì instead of yī here.