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守财奴 (shǒu cái nú) — miser

Definition

noun
miser

Examples

  • 守财奴，。
    Tā zhēn shì gè shǒu cái nú, yì fēn qián dōu shě bu de huā.
    He's a real miser, unwilling to spend a single cent.
  • 守财奴，。
    Nà ge shǒu cái nú suī rán hěn yǒu qián, dàn shēng huó guò dé xiàng qióng rén yí yàng.
    That miser is very rich, but lives like a poor person.
  • 守财奴，。
    Dà jiā dōu shuō tā shì gè shǒu cái nú, yīn wèi tā cóng bù qǐng kè.
    Everyone says he's a miser because he never treats anyone.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

守财guarding wealth
守shǒuguard财cáiwealth
动宾Verb + object
奴núslave

守财 guarding wealth describes the 奴 slave, meaning one enslaved to wealth.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 宀宀miánroof; building
  • 寸寸cùnhand

守 pairs 宀, a roof or building, with 寸, a hand, to show a hand guarding a place.

Open 守 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 財; 财 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell
Sound part声符shēngfú
才
才cái財cái
Same sound today

The traditional form 財 has 貝 (shell) next to 才, which gives the sound; the simplified 财 is a later shorthand.

Open 财 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

奴 shows 又 (a hand) and 女 (a woman): a hand capturing and ordering a woman around.

Open 奴 →
Appears in
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