胆小鬼 (dǎn xiǎo guǐ) — coward | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

An informal, mildly insulting noun for a coward — more colloquial and pointed than the plain adjective 胆小.

noun

coward

Measure word · 个

胆小鬼，。
Tā zhēn shì gè dǎn xiǎo guǐ, lián māo dōu pà.
He's such a coward; he's even afraid of cats.
胆小鬼。
Bèi rén jiào zuò dǎn xiǎo guǐ de gǎn jué hěn nán shòu.
It hurts to be called a coward by others.
胆小鬼。
Nǐ yào zhèng míng zì jǐ bú shì dǎn xiǎo guǐ.
You need to prove you're not a coward.

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.

胆小timid

主谓Subject + predicate

胆 refers to courage and 小 to smallness; 胆小鬼 names a person whose courage is small.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

⺼Written in full as肉ròubody part

Sound part声符shēngfú

旦

Same sound today

胆 combines ⺼, written as 肉 when full, for a body part, with 旦 as a sound part.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

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.

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.

Appears in