小巧 (xiǎo qiǎo) — small and exquisite; delicate | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Describes something physically small yet finely made — emphasizes compactness plus craft. Unlike 好看 (just 'good-looking'), 小巧 highlights the small, neat size of the object itself.

adjective

small and exquisitedelicate

Examples

小巧。
Zhè kuǎn xiǎo qiǎo de shǒu jī kě yǐ qīng sōng fàng jìn kǒu dài.
This small and exquisite phone can easily fit in a pocket.
小巧，。
Tā dài le yì tiáo xiǎo qiǎo de xiàng liàn, fēi cháng hǎo kàn.
She wore a delicate necklace that looked very nice.
小巧，。
Zhè tào chá jù shè jì xiǎo qiǎo, wǒ hěn xǐ huan.
This tea set has a small and exquisite design; I really like it.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

巧qiǎodelicate

小 “small” + 巧 “delicate”: small and exquisitely made.

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.

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

工丂巧

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

丂

丂kǎo巧qiǎo

Same sound today

巧 is made of 工 and 丂; 工 points to its meaning, and 丂 points to its sound.

Appears in

Appearance Size & Dimension

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