(xiǎo tōu) - thief, pickpocket in Mandarin
xiǎotōuTraditional: 小偷
Translation
thief, pickpocket
Word origin
A compound of 小 (xiǎo, small, here dismissive) and 偷 (tōu, to steal), literally a petty stealer.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 小 (xiǎo, petty) + 偷 (tōu, to steal)
Stroke order
小
偷
Examples
。
The thief took her purse.
。
The police caught that thief.
，。
There are plenty of thieves at the station, so be careful.
。
Someone in the street shouted stop thief.
。
The thief got into the house through the window.
小偷 (xiǎo tōu) is a thief of the everyday sort: the one who lifts a phone on a crowded bus or slips in through an open window. The 小 is not about size but about contempt, the same dismissive prefix that gives 小人 and 小气.
It is a noun only. The act itself is 偷: 他偷了我的手机 is he stole my phone, and 小偷偷了我的手机 is the thief did. 被偷了 is the ordinary way to say something of yours was taken.
The trap is stretching it upwards. Someone who robs a bank at gunpoint is 强盗 or 抢劫犯, and a fraudster is 骗子. 小偷 stays with quiet, opportunistic theft, and calling an armed robber a 小偷 sounds like a joke at the robber's expense.
Where this fits
Used in
Grammar articles
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小偷: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "小偷" (thief, pickpocket): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 58.