Brocade is a thick, heavy cloth with a raised pattern. The special thing is the gold and silver thread: it is woven into the cloth, not painted on and not sewn on later, so the flowers or swirls sit up a little and catch the light. You see it on grand old jackets, church clothes, fancy curtains, and some traditional Chinese dresses that are trying to look rich.

Brocade is a thick, heavy cloth with a raised patternbrocade（錦緞）是一種厚重、帶有凸紋圖案的布料。The special thing is the gold and silver thread特別的地方在於金線和銀線：it is woven into the cloth它是織進布料裡的, not painted on and not sewn on later不是後來畫上去或縫上去的, so the flowers or swirls sit up a little and catch the light所以上面的花朵或漩渦紋會微微凸起，並反射光線。You see it on grand old jackets, church clothes, fancy curtains, and some traditional Chinese dresses that are trying to look rich你會在氣派的舊式外套、教會服裝、華麗的窗簾，以及一些想顯得富貴的傳統中式服裝上看到它。

It is a rather posh, old-world word. In a shop today people may just say “patterned silk” or “heavy silk”, though actually those are looser names — real brocade is stiff, and the metal thread is the point.

It is a rather posh, old-world word這是個相當高雅、帶點舊時代氣息的字。In a shop today people may just say "patterned silk" or "heavy silk"現在店裡的人可能只會說『patterned silk 有花紋的絲綢』或『heavy silk 厚絲綢』, though actually those are looser names不過其實那些是比較籠統的說法——real brocade is stiff, and the metal thread is the point真正的 brocade 是硬挺的，重點就在那條金屬線。

There is a quiet verb too, to brocade, meaning to weave cloth this way or to decorate something with this cloth. You will almost never hear the verb in ordinary talk. The noun is the one that lives.

There is a quiet verb too, to brocade這個字也有一個不太起眼的動詞用法，to brocade, meaning to weave cloth this way or to decorate something with this cloth意思是用這種方式織布，或用這種布料來裝飾東西。You will almost never hear the verb in ordinary talk在日常對話裡，你幾乎不會聽到這個動詞。The noun is the one that lives活著、常被用的是名詞。