短小精悍 (duǎn xiǎo jīng hàn) — (形容人) small in stature but capable and sharp; (形容文章、演讲等) short and forceful; pithy and to the point

Definition

A chengyu praising either a person (small in stature but sharp and capable) or a piece of writing (brief yet forceful). The two senses are unrelated — pick by context: physical appearance vs. style of writing/speech.

idiom
(形容人) small in stature but capable and sharp(形容文章、演讲等) short and forcefulpithy and to the point

Examples

  • ，短小精悍，。
    Tā suī rán gè zi bù gāo, dàn duǎn xiǎo jīng hàn, zài tuán duì lǐ hěn yǒu hào zhào lì.
    Although he is not tall, he is small but capable and has great influence in the team.
  • 短小精悍，。
    Zhè piān bào dào xiě dé duǎn xiǎo jīng hàn, dú qǐ lái háo bú fèi lì.
    This news article is written concisely and forcefully; it's effortless to read.
  • 短小精悍，。
    Lǐng dǎo de fā yán duǎn xiǎo jīng hàn, wǔ fēn zhōng jiù jiǎng qīng le hé xīn wèn tí.
    The leader's speech was short and forceful; in five minutes he clarified the core issues.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

短小short and small
短duǎnshort小xiǎosmall
联合Side by side
精悍sharp and forceful
精jīngsharp悍hànforceful
联合Side by side

短小 conveys being short and small, and 精悍 conveys being sharp and forceful.

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
矢矢shǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
豆
豆dòu短duǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

短 is built from 矢 and 豆. 豆 is used for its sound, while 矢 is the component linked to the meaning.

Open 短 →

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 →

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
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng精jīng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

精 pairs 米 (rice) with 青, which gives the sound; the character originally meant polished rice.

Open 精 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 悍 →

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