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小卒 (xiǎo cù) — chess pawn; nobody; insignificant person

Definition

Literally 'little pawn,' 小卒 means a small, powerless person — a nobody with no influence. Often used self-deprecatingly or to contrast with 大人物 ('big shots').

noun
chess pawnnobodyinsignificant person
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，小卒。
    Zài guó jì xiàng qí lǐ, xiǎo cù shì zuì ruò dàn zuì zhòng yào de qí zǐ zhī yī.
    In chess, the pawn is one of the weakest but most important pieces.
  • ，。
    Tā jué de zì jǐ zhǐ shì gōng sī lǐ de yí gè xiǎo xiǎo cù, méi shén me fā yán quán.
    He feels he's just a nobody in the company with no say.
  • ，。
    Lì shǐ wǎng wǎng yóu dà rén wù shū xiě, dàn xiǎo xiǎo cù men cái shì zhēn zhèng de tuī dòng zhě.
    History is often written by great figures, but the little people are the real drivers.

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
卒zúsoldier

小 “small” + 卒 “soldier” describes a low-ranking soldier or chess pawn.

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.

Early forms of 卒 drew a completed piece of clothing, with a mark showing it was to be folded.

Open 卒 →
Appears in
Games & Puzzles

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