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小鬼 (xiǎo guǐ) — (noun) a little demon or ghost in folklore; (noun) (affectionate) a cute or mischievous child; little rascal

Definition

Literally 'little ghost/demon' from folklore, but used affectionately to scold or tease a mischievous child (e.g. 你这小鬼 'you little rascal'). Tone is playful, not scary.

noun
a little demon or ghost in folklore(affectionate) a cute or mischievous childlittle rascal
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，。
    Nǎi nai jiào wǒ xiǎo xiǎo guǐ, yīn wèi wǒ zǒng shì tiáo pí.
    Grandma calls me little devil because I'm always mischievous.
  • ，。
    Zài shén huà gù shi lǐ, xiǎo xiǎo guǐ shì dì fǔ de shǐ zhě.
    In mythological stories, little demons are messengers of the underworld.
  • ，。
    Cháng zhēng shí qī, xǔ duō xiǎo xiǎo guǐ jiā rù le hóng jūn.
    During the Long March, many 'little devils' joined the Red Army.

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xiǎolittle
鬼guǐdemon

A 鬼, or demon, made 小, or little, becomes an imp or affectionate name for a child.

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 →

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
Mythology & Folklore

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