小气 xiǎoqi stingy
stingy; miserly; narrow-minded; petty
How to remember 小气: 小 small + 气 air = stingy.
Characters
How it is used
- Stingy / petty (note neutral tone qi): 他很小气,一分钱都不肯花 (tā hěn xiǎoqi, yì fēn qián dōu bù kěn huā) he's so stingy he won't spend a cent.
- Covers both miserliness with money and being narrow-minded/petty about small slights.
- Colloquial and mildly critical; opposite is 大方 (generous) - 他很大方 (tā hěn dàfang) he is very generous.
Example sentences
- 你为什么对我这么小气？ Nǐ wèishénme duì wǒ zhème xiǎoqì?Why are you so mean to me?
- 汤姆很小气。 Tāngmǔ hěnxiǎo qì.Tom is stingy.