Nà ge rén nàme xiǎoqì, lián gǔké dōu bú ràng lǎoshǔ chī.
That person is so stingy he won’t even let the mice eat the chaff.
Sentence #2353506 from Tatoeba · translation adapted
How 小气 is built
Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
小xiǎosmall
亅hook · jué
八eight · bā
Memory aidThree small strokes, like grains: small.
气qìgas; air
气 is a single shape of 4 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
Memory aidDrawn from layers of vapour rising: air, steam, breath.
How to write 小气
小 3 strokes · 气 4 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 小气 (xiǎoqì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
小气 (xiǎoqì) means “stingy” or “miserly”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it xiǎoqì: xiǎo with a 3rd tone, then qì with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 小气 is written 小氣. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type xiaoqi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 小气 from the suggestions. Typing xiaoqi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
小气 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
Turn words into conversations
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
小xiǎo3rd tone, dipping
气qì4th tone, falling
