淘气包 (táo qì bāo) — mischievous child, little rascal
Definition
An affectionate term for a mischievous child or 'little rascal' — usually said with fondness, not as a real insult. 淘气 alone describes the behavior; 淘气包 is the cheeky kid who does it.
noun
mischievous childlittle rascal
Measure word · 个
Examples
- 淘气包。Wǒ jiā nà ge táo qì bāo zhěng tiān dào chù dǎo luàn.That little rascal at my house causes trouble everywhere all day long.
- 淘气包，。Bié kàn tā shì gè táo qì bāo, qí shí tè bié cōng ming.Don't let the fact that he's a little imp fool you — he's actually very smart.
- 淘气包。Lín jū jiā de táo qì bāo yòu bǎ qiú tī dào wǒ jiā yuàn zi lǐ le.The neighbor's little rascal kicked the ball into my yard again.
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.
淘气 describes a mischievous temperament, and 包 names the person, so the whole word means a little rascal.
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