铁公鸡 (tiě gōng jī) — miser; stingy person

Definition

铁公鸡 is a colloquial idiom for a miser — literally 'iron rooster' (even a metal bird won't yield a feather). It's a colorful, teasing insult, stronger than plain 小气/吝啬.

noun
miserstingy person
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 铁公鸡，。
    Tā zhēn shì gè tiě gōng jī, yì fēn qián dōu bù kěn huā.
    He's such a miser — he won't spend a single cent.
  • 铁公鸡，。
    Dà jiā dōu jiào tā tiě gōng jī, yīn wèi tā cóng lái bù qǐng kè.
    Everyone calls him a stingy person because he never treats anyone.
  • 铁公鸡。
    Gēn nà ge tiě gōng jī jiè dōng xī bǐ dēng tiān hái nán.
    Borrowing something from that miser is harder than climbing to heaven.

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.

铁tiěiron
公鸡rooster
公gōngmale鸡jīchicken
偏正Modifier + head

铁 (iron) and 公鸡 (rooster) picture a rooster made of iron, with nothing to take.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鐵; 铁 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢧤
𢧤𢧤鐵tiě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鐵 pairs 金 (metal) with 𢧤 as a sound part; the simplified 铁 is a later shorthand.

Open 铁 →

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

One theory sees 公 as a picture of a wide-mouthed, round-bottomed jar.

Open 公 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 雞; 鸡 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuīshort-tailed bird
Sound part声符shēngfú
奚
奚xī雞jī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 雞 pairs 奚, which gives the sound, with 隹, a short-tailed bird. The simplified 鸡 is a later shorthand, and its right side is not the historical 奚.

Open 鸡 →

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