Kilo Lingo

(xiǎo zi) - kid, lad, young guy (informal) in Mandarin

xiǎozi

Traditional: 小子

Line drawing of 小子
Coloured illustration of 小子
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Translation

kid, lad, young guy (informal)

Word origin

A two-character colloquial term for a kid or young fellow. 小 (xiǎo) 'small, young' joins 子 (zi), here a neutral-tone noun suffix; 子 is a pictograph of a baby with outstretched arms.

Origin
compound
Root
小 (xiǎo, 'young') + 子 (zi, noun suffix; pictograph of a child)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 小

Stroke order for 子

Examples

This kid is really clever.

nào

Lad, stop making trouble.

Who is that young guy?

That kid is late again.

Where this fits

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Mandarin · Free printables

小子: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "小子" (kid, lad, young guy (informal)): 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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This word is part of lesson 14.