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小气鬼 (xiǎo qì guǐ) — (derogatory) miser; stingy person; penny pincher

Definition

A colloquial, mildly rude nickname for a stingy person — stronger and more personal than just calling someone 小气. Use it informally, not in polite writing.

noun
(derogatory) miserstingy personpenny pincher
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 小气鬼，。
    Tā zhēn shì gè xiǎo qì guǐ, lián yí kuài qián dōu bú yuàn yì jiè.
    He's such a miser — he won't even lend a single yuan.
  • 小气鬼，。
    Bié nà me xiǎo qì guǐ, qǐng péng you chī dùn fàn yòu huā bù liǎo duō shǎo qián.
    Don't be such a cheapskate — treating friends to a meal doesn't cost that much.
  • 小气鬼，。
    Dà jiā dōu jiào tā xiǎo qì guǐ, yīn wèi tā cóng bù kěn qǐng kè.
    Everyone calls him a penny pincher because he never treats anyone.

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.

小气stingy
小xiǎosmall气qìspirit
偏正Modifier + head
鬼guǐperson

小气 means stingy, and 鬼 is a person who is that way.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
气
气qì氣qì
Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Open 气 →

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

鬼 originally drew a kneeling figure with an ugly face, perhaps a mask; the small lower right dot is a later added tail.

Open 鬼 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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