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小偷儿 (xiǎo tōu r) — thief

Definition

Common, colloquial noun for a petty thief. 贼 is more literary and broader (can also mean 'cunning'), and 强盗 is a violent robber — both far stronger than 小偷儿.

noun
thief
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 小偷儿，。
    Tā huái yí zì jǐ de lín jū shì gè xiǎo tōu r, dàn méi yǒu zhèng jù.
    He suspects his neighbor is a thief, but has no evidence.
  • 小偷儿。
    Nà ge xiǎo tōu r zài shāng chǎng lǐ tōu dōng xi bèi jiān kòng pāi dào le.
    That thief was caught on camera stealing in the mall.
  • 小偷儿。
    Jǐng chá tí xǐng dà jiā wǎn shàng chū mén shí yào xiǎo xīn xiǎo tōu r.
    The police remind everyone to watch out for thieves when going out at night.

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.

小偷petty thief
小xiǎosmall偷tōuthief
偏正Modifier + head
儿érer

小偷儿 means a thief, where 小 suggests petty, 偷 suggests stealing, and 儿 makes it colloquial.

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 →

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
俞
俞yú偷tōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 亻, a standing person, points to the idea of someone doing the act, while the right part 俞 gives the character its sound.

Open 偷 →

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

The shape 儿 is a simple drawing of a standing person, used as an alternate form of the character for person.

Open 儿 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Crime & Police

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.