小个 (xiǎo gě) — short person, small-statured person

Definition

Refers to a short or small-statured person, often used contrastively with 高个 (tall person). Colloquial, not formal.

noun

short personsmall-statured person

Measure word · 个

小个，。
Nà ge xiǎo gě suī rán bù gāo, dàn dǎ lán qiú hěn lì hài.
That short guy may not be tall, but he's great at basketball.
小个，。
Wǒ men duì lǐ yǒu gè xiǎo gě, pǎo dé tè bié kuài.
There's a short person on our team who runs especially fast.
小个，。
Bié kàn tā shì gè xiǎo gě, lì qi kě bù xiǎo.
Don't underestimate him just because he's short — he's actually quite strong.

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.

个gèstature

小个 describes a person whose 个, meaning stature, is 小.

Characters in this word

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

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.

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 個; 个 is its simplified writing.

亻固個

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

固

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 个, the form 個 pairs 亻 (person) with 固 as a sound part.