小人 xiǎorén person of low social status (old)
person of low social status (old); I, me (used to refer humbly to oneself); nasty person; vile character
怎么记住“小人”: 小 small + 人 person = person of low social status (old).
汉字
用法
- A base, treacherous person - the moral opposite of 君子 (jūnzǐ, a person of virtue): 防着点那个小人 (fáng zhe diǎn nàge xiǎorén) watch out for that snake, 他是个君子 (tā shì ge jūnzǐ) he's a man of honour.
- Chief modern use is this 'vile character' sense; note 小人 ≠ 小孩 (child) and ≠ literal 'small person.'
- Also an old humble self-reference and, separately, 小人书 (xiǎorénshū) means a comic booklet.