小器 (xiǎo qì) — (adjective) stingy, tight-fisted; (adjective) petty, small-minded

Definition

A negative judgment about a person's character — 'stingy with money' and 'petty in behavior'. More literary than everyday 小气; used more for character criticism than casual teasing.

adjective
stingytight-fistedpettysmall-minded
Easily confused

Examples

  • 小器，。
    Tā tài xiǎo qì le, lián yì bēi kā fēi dōu bú yuàn yì qǐng.
    He's so stingy he won't even treat anyone to a cup of coffee.
  • 小器，。
    Bié zhè me xiǎo qì, yì diǎn xiǎo shì bù zhí dé shēng qì.
    Don't be so petty — a small thing like that isn't worth getting angry over.
  • ，，。
    Tā suī rán yǒu qián, dàn wèi rén hěn xiǎo qì, cóng bù juān kuǎn.
    Although she's rich, she's very stingy and never donates.

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.

小xiǎosmall
器qìcapacity

小 means small and 器 refers to capacity, so it describes narrow-mindedness.

Characters in this word

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

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

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

The origin of 器 is uncertain; one traditional account reads the whole shape as a scene of guarding over four vessels.

Open 器 →

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