小霸王 (xiǎo bà wáng) — spoiled child who acts like a little tyrant; domineering kid, little bully

Definition

A 'little tyrant' — a spoiled, domineering child who bosses others around. The 霸王 part literally means 'overlord/king', so the word paints the child as a tiny ruler who gets his way.

noun
spoiled child who acts like a little tyrantdomineering kidlittle bully
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，小霸王。
    Zhè hái zi bèi chǒng huài le, jiǎn zhí shì gè xiǎo bà wáng.
    This child has been spoiled rotten; he's a real little tyrant.
  • 小霸王。
    Lín jū jiā de xiǎo bà wáng yòu lái qiǎng wán jù le.
    The little tyrant from next door came to snatch toys again.
  • ，小霸王。
    Bié guàn zhe tā, bù rán zhēn chéng xiǎo bà wáng le.
    Don't indulge him, or he'll really become a little tyrant.

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
霸王tyrant king
霸bàhegemon王wángking
联合Side by side

“小” adds a lesser or childish sense to “霸王”, a tyrannical ruler, giving a little bully.

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.

The original form paired 革 with 月 to show changes in moonlight.

Open 霸 →

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

The shape of 王 comes from a picture of a ritual axe, an object kept near a throne and connected with royal power.

Open 王 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.