小家子气 xiǎo jiā zi qì petty

Explanation

形容人言行、作风不大方，缺乏气度。

Describes a person whose words, actions, and demeanor are not generous and lack dignity.

Origin Story

明朝时期，王杰与友人在酒楼饮酒，归途中见一佣人与卖姜者因价钱争执不下。王杰仗义执言，斥责卖姜者不识大体。卖姜者委屈道：“小本经营，如何能打我的短？相公应放宽宏大量些，不应如此小家子气。”王杰怒火中烧，挥拳打倒卖姜者。事后，王杰的朋友劝诫他应以大局为重，不必为小事斤斤计较，否则显得小家子气，有损自己的名声。王杰细细思量，方知自己过于冲动，失了君子风度。从此，他为人处世愈发宽宏大量，不再因琐事而动怒。

míng cháo shí qī, wáng jié yǔ yǒu rén zài jiǔ lóu yǐn jiǔ, guī tú zhōng jiàn yī yōng rén yǔ mài jiāng zhě yīn jià qián zhēng zhí bù xià. wáng jié zhàng yì zhí yán, chì zé mài jiāng zhě bù shí dà tǐ. mài jiāng zhě wěi quē dào: "xiǎo běn jīng yíng, rú hé néng dǎ wǒ de duǎn? xiāng gōng yīng fàng kuān hóng dà liàng xiē, bù yīng rú cǐ xiǎo jiā zi qì." wáng jié nù huǒ zhōng shāo, huī quán dǎ dǎo mài jiāng zhě. shì hòu, wáng jié de péng yǒu quàn jiè tā yīng yǐ dà jú wéi zhòng, bù bì wèi xiǎo shì jīn jīn jì jiào, fǒu zé xiǎn de xiǎo jiā zi qì, yǒu sǔn zì jǐ de míng shēng. wáng jié xì xì sī liang, fāng zhī zì jǐ guò yú chōng dòng, shī le jūn zǐ fēng dù. cóng cǐ, tā wéi rén chǔ shì yù fā kuān hóng dà liàng, bù zài yīn suǒ shì ér dòng nù.

During the Ming Dynasty, Wang Jie and his friends were drinking in a restaurant. On their way home, they saw a servant and a ginger seller arguing over the price. Wang Jie stepped in and rebuked the ginger seller for his lack of generosity. The ginger seller complained, "With my small business, how can I afford to lose money? You should be more generous and not so petty." Wang Jie was furious and knocked the ginger seller down. Afterward, Wang Jie's friend advised him to focus on the bigger picture and not worry about small things, otherwise, he would appear petty and damage his reputation. Wang Jie thought carefully and realized he had acted too impulsively and lost his gentlemanly demeanor. From then on, he became more generous and no longer got angry over trivial matters.

Usage

用于形容人的言谈举止、处事方式等不够大方、气度狭小。

yòng yú xiáoróng rén de yán tán jǔ zhǐ, chǔ shì fāng shì děng bù gòu dà fang, qì dù xiá xiǎo

Used to describe a person's words, actions, and ways of doing things that are not generous enough and lack breadth.

Examples

• 他为人处世过于小家子气，让人难以相处。

  tā wéi rén chǔ shì guò yú xiǎo jiā zi qì, ràng rén nán yǐ xiāng chǔ

  He is too petty in his dealings with people, making him difficult to get along with.

• 不要这么小家子气，大方一点

  bú yào zhè me xiǎo jiā zi qì, dà fang yī diǎn

  Don't be so petty, be more generous!

Related Idioms

• 吝啬

• 寒酸

Opposite Idioms

• 大气

• 豪爽