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小家子气
小家子气
小家子气
小家子气
小家子气
小家子气
小家子气
小家子气
小家子气
小家子气
小家子气

小家子气 — “Petty and narrow-minded”

小家子气 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “petty and narrow-minded”. Mean; stingy; fussy about trifles; ungenerous in demeanor or actions. Literally, “petty demeanor”.

Frequency

小家子气 Pronunciation and Pinyin

小家子气 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order
CharacterPinyinStrokesMeaning
小
xiǎo3small, little, young, minor
家
jiā10family home or expert
子
zi3son, child, seed, small thing
气
qì4air, gas, spirit, anger

Example Sentence with 小家子气

他总是对一些小事斤斤计较,显得有些小家子气
He always quibbles over trifles, showing a bit of a petty demeanor.

Origin and Story of 小家子气

During the Ming Dynasty, a scholar named Wang Jie was returning home after drinking with friends.

He saw his servant arguing incessantly with a ginger vendor over the price of ginger. Wang Jie stepped forward to lecture the vendor for being unreasonable.

The vendor replied, 'We run a small business, how can you expect me to take a loss? Sir, you should be more magnanimous, you shouldn't be so petty.'

Wang Jie became furious, stepped forward, and punched him to the ground.

Idioms Related to 小家子气

Synonyms of 小家子气

  • xiǎo小shǒu手xiǎo小jiǎo脚timid and overly cautious

Antonyms of 小家子气

  • dà大shǒu手dà大jiǎo脚extravagant and wasteful

More idioms starting with 小

  • xiǎo小bù不rěn忍zé则luàn乱dà大móu谋Impatience in small things spoils great plans
  • xiǎo小chǒu丑tiào跳liáng梁Insignificant villains stirring up mischief
  • xiǎo小zhōng中jiàn见dà大see the big in the small
  • xiǎo小rén人dé得zhì志petty person achieves success
  • xiǎo小xìn信wèi未fú孚Small trust not yet convinced
  • xiǎo小tōu偷xiǎo小mō摸to engage in petty theft
  • xiǎo小ér儿pò破zéi贼youngster achieves great accomplishments
  • xiǎo小guān冠zi子xià夏a person with poor eyesight
  • xiǎo小shòu受dà大zǒu走endure minor punishment, flee severe beating
  • xiǎo小qì器yì易yíng盈narrow-minded, easily conceited
  • xiǎo小guó国guǎ寡mín民small country with few people
  • xiǎo小dà大yóu由zhī之applicable to both large and small matters

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Questions about 小家子气

What does 小家子气 mean?

小家子气 (xiǎo jiā zi qì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “petty and narrow-minded”.

How do you pronounce 小家子气?

小家子气 is pronounced xiǎo jiā zi qì in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 小家子气 literally mean?

Literally, 小家子气 means “petty demeanor”. It is used to mean “petty and narrow-minded”.

Where does 小家子气 come from?

小家子气 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to the modern era. The full story is on this page.

What is the Chinese definition of 小家子气?

小家子:旧指出身低微的人。形容人的言谈举止及做事不大方。

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