抠门 (kōu mén) — stingy, miserly | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Colloquial adjective meaning 'stingy, miserly' — used for people who refuse to spend money. Colloquial and blunt, stronger than 小气.

adjective

stingymiserly

Examples

抠门，。
Tā zhè ge rén zhēn kōu mén, cóng lái bù qǐng kè.
He is really stingy, never treats anyone.
抠门，。
Wǒ men jué de tā tài kōu mén le, lián yì fēn qián dōu bú yuàn yì huā.
We think he is too stingy; he wouldn't even spend a cent.
抠门，。
Zhè me kōu mén de rén, méi rén yuàn yì gēn tā hé zuò.
Such a stingy person, nobody wants to cooperate with him.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

抠 means picking or digging out, and 门 is a door; the image of scraping at a door for every bit conveys stinginess.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

Personality & Traits

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