嗇 (sè) - Stingy — frugal, sparing, economical & to be reluctant to spend or use resources

嗇Tone 4

sè ｜ 13 strokes ｜ radical:

三姗

嗇 · sè

Stingy — frugal, sparing, economical;

to be reluctant to spend or use resources;

also refers to harvesting crops.

Stingy — frugal, sparing, economicalto be reluctant to spend or use resourcesalso refers to harvesting crops.

Usage highlights

StingyHarvester/officialFrugal useEconomicalStingy ghostStingy and greedy

Synonyms

  • 吝— stingy, miserly
  • 俭— frugal, thrifty
  • 悭— stingy, miserly

Antonyms

  • 奢— extravagant, wasteful
  • 侈— luxurious, extravagant
  • 阔— wealthy, lavish

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • He is very stingy with money (吝啬).
  • The farmer harvested the crops (啬夫).
  • She practices frugal living (啬用).
  • Don't be stingy with compliments (不要吝啬赞美).

Collocations

  • Stingy(吝啬)
  • Harvester/official(啬夫)
  • Frugal use(啬用)
  • Economical(俭啬)
  • Stingy ghost(啬鬼)
  • Stingy and greedy(啬吝)

Idioms

  • Stingy as a ghost(啬啬鬼鬼)
  • Frugal and diligent(啬俭勤力)
  • Stingy with words(啬于言辞)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Originally depicted grain stored in a granary, representing harvesting and conservation.
  • In traditional values, being 啬 was both praised as thriftiness and criticized as excessive stinginess.
  • The character appears in classical texts like the Book of Songs referring to agricultural harvests.

FAQ