矬子 (cuó zǐ) — short person (colloquial), dwarf

Definition

A colloquial, mildly disparaging term for a short person or dwarf — stronger and ruder than the neutral 矮个子.

noun

short person (colloquial)dwarf

Measure word · 个

矬子，。
Nà ge cuó zǐ suī rán gè zi ǎi, dàn shì pǎo bù hěn kuài.
That short guy may be small in stature, but he runs very fast.
矬子，。
Cūn lǐ de rén jiào tā cuó zǐ, tā yě bù shēng qì.
The villagers call him Shorty, and he doesn't get mad.
矬子，。
Zhè bù xiǎo shuō lǐ yǒu gè cuó zǐ jué sè, tè bié yōu mò.
In this novel there's a short-guy character who is especially funny.

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.

矬 describes short stature, and 子 names the person so described.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

矢坐矬

Meaning part形符xíngfú

矢矢shǐarrow

Sound part声符shēngfú

坐

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

It pairs 矢 (arrow) as a meaning part with 坐, which gives the sound zuò.

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.