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瘸子 (qué zǐ) — (colloquial) a lame person, someone with a leg disability

Definition

A colloquial, often blunt noun for 'a person who limps' or 'lame person.' It can sound disrespectful — example 2 shows a speaker being told off for using it directly. Prefer 腿脚不方便 in polite contexts.

noun
(colloquial) a lame personsomeone with a leg disability
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 瘸子。
    Nà ge qué zǐ zǒu lù yì qué yì guǎi de.
    That lame person walks with a limp.
  • 瘸子，。
    Bié zhè yàng jiào tā qué zǐ, zhè yàng bú tài lǐ mào.
    Don't call him a lame person like that — it's not very polite.
  • ，瘸子。
    Tā xiǎo shí hou tuǐ shòu guò shāng, hòu lái jiù chéng le qué zǐ.
    He injured his leg as a child, and later became lame.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

瘸quélame
子zǐsuffix

瘸 lame plus 子 forms a colloquial word for a lame person.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒疒nèsickness
肉肉ròuflesh
Sound part声符shēngfú
加
加jiā瘸qué
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

瘸 is built from 疒 (sickness), 肉 (flesh), and 加 (used for sound).

Open 瘸 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →
Appears in
Injury & DisabilityPeople (General)

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