小人 (xiǎo rén) — a mean, petty, or unscrupulous person; a villain; (historical) a person of low social status; (archaic) I, me (humble self-reference)
Definition
小人 most commonly means a petty, scheming person — stronger and more about moral character than 小气 (stingy/petty about money) or 卑鄙 (a single despicable act). It also pairs historically with 君子 as a low-status opposite.
noun
a meanpettyor unscrupulous persona villain(historical) a person of low social status(archaic) Ime (humble self-reference)
Measure word · 个
Examples
- ，小人。Tā zǒng shì bèi hòu gǎo xiǎo dòng zuò, zhēn shì xiǎo rén.He's always scheming behind people's backs — he's a real petty person.
- ，小人。Zài gǔ dài, xiǎo rén yǔ jūn zǐ shì duì lì de liǎng gè jiē céng.In ancient times, 'petty people' and 'gentlemen' were two opposing social classes.
- 小人，。xiǎo rén Dǒu dǎn jìn yán, wàng jiāng jūn sān sī.I humbly presume to speak — I hope the general will think twice.
Appears in
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