I’m particularly fond of affix characters in Chinese, and what more vibrant
an example than 鬼 guǐ (“ghost; devil”)?
魔鬼 móguǐ (“evil devil”) – demon
懒鬼 lǎnguǐ (“lazy devil”) – lazybones
酒鬼 jiǔguǐ (“alcohol ghost”) – alcoholic; drunkard
醉鬼 zuìguǐ (“drunk devil”) – drunkard
烟鬼 yānguǐ (“smoke devil”) – opium addict; chain smoker
调皮鬼 tiáopíguǐ (“naughty devil”) – naughty child
捣蛋鬼 dǎodànguǐ (“make-trouble devil”) – same as #6
吸血鬼 xīxuèguǐ (“suck-blood devil”) – vampire
鬼佬 guǐlǎo (“devil old-guy”) – foreigner (usually derogatory)
胆小鬼 dǎnxiǎoguǐ (“small-gut devil”) – coward; chicken
二鬼子 èrguǐzi (“two-ghost-thing”) - a “banana” – someone yellow (Asian) on
the outside but white (Caucasian) on the inside (derogatory)*
短命鬼 duǎnmìngguǐ (“short-life devil”) – someone who dies at a young age
赌鬼 dǔguǐ (“gambling ghost”) – gambling addict
饿鬼 èguǐ (“hungry ghost”) – someone who is always hungry; someone with a big
appetite
机灵鬼 jīlingguǐ (“clever ghost”) – clever person
胡涂鬼 hútuguǐ (“confused ghost”) – someone who often seems confused and/or
stupid
色鬼 sèguǐ (“lust ghost”) – lecher; person who engages in sexual excess (no
exact word for this in English perhaps?)
厉鬼 lìguǐ (“terrible ghost”) – evil spirit
馋鬼 chánguǐ (“gluttonous ghost”) – pig (someone who eats too much)
催命鬼 cuīmìngguǐ (“prodding ghost”) – someone who keeps pushing people to do
things; a nagger
死鬼 sǐguǐ (“dead ghost”) – a negative but playful term used between
spouses
鬼子 guǐzi (“devil-thing”) – foreign devil (derogatory)
鬼怪 guǐguài (“ghost-monster”) – ghosts and monsters
见鬼 jiànguǐ (“see ghost”) – go to Hell!
鬼知道 guǐ zhīdào (“ghost knows”) – Heaven knows!
发表于 2016-7-13 22:35:32