# 小心眼儿



## yuechu

Hello/大家好，

I often come across the word 小心眼儿 when watching Chinese TV. My dictionary gives the translation "narrow-minded" but it never seems to be used in the same context as I would use "narrow-minded" in English...
For example, in a TV show, there is a girl who is not happy that her boyfriend is not buying an 1000+ RMB 脚毯 for her even though they don't have any money. So she complains that "他这个人啊。他就小心眼儿！". 
Would anyone know what the meaning of 小心眼儿 is?

Thanks in advance/谢谢！


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## Vampiro

Something like "intolerant", in my opinion.
Regards.
_


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## SuperXW

Literally means "narrow-minded", but it doesn't always means the same thing in English. Imagine a person (usually to describe a female) who is a little bit selfish and stingy, always bearing a grudge, opposite to what you call "a big heart", that's 小心眼儿.

There's another possible usage of 小心眼儿: e.g. 他那点小心眼儿，我还不清楚？
Here 小心眼 means "small cleverness", "little plan in heart". The whole sentence means "I surely know his small plan/intention."

My English is limited. Other members may have more accurate English explanations.


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## Skatinginbc

心眼 has multiple meanings, including: 
1. 心和眼 "heart and eyes":  figuratively 见识眼光 "insight, perceptiveness" ==> 小心眼 =  见识眼光短浅  "lacking foresight, short-sighted, narrow-minded".
2. 心的眼 "heart's  focus": figuratively 心意心思 "intent, focus of thoughts" ==> 小心眼 = 多疑,  在琐事上鑽牛角尖 "inclined to brood over something trivial, paranoid,  oversensitive".
3. 心的眼 "entrance to heart": figuratively 气量胸怀  "capacity to tolerate/accommodate others" ==> 小心眼 = 胸襟狭隘 "intolerant,  unmagnanimous, unaccommodating". 


baosheng said:


> there is  a girl who is not happy that her boyfriend is not buying an 1000+ RMB  脚毯 for her even though they don't have any money. So she complains that  "他这个人啊。他就小心眼儿！".


She seems to be complaining about  his 小气 (= 小 + 气量 =  小 + 心眼 definition#3 "capacity to accommodate").   "He is unaccommodating", in other words.


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## BODYholic

baosheng said:


> Hello/大家好，
> 
> I often come across the word 小心眼儿 when watching Chinese TV. My dictionary gives the translation "narrow-minded" but it never seems to be used in the same context as I would use "narrow-minded" in English...
> For example, in a TV show, there is a girl who is not happy that her boyfriend is not buying an 1000+ RMB 脚毯 for her even though they don't have any money. So she complains that "他这个人啊。他就小心眼儿！".
> Would anyone know what the meaning of 小心眼儿 is?
> 
> Thanks in advance/谢谢！



Sometimes it is also translated as petty.


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## xiaolijie

In the context as described by the OP, wouldn't it be appropriate to translate it simply as "stingy/ ungenerous" ?


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## yuechu

Skatinginbc said:


> 2. 小心眼 = 多疑, 在琐事上钻牛角尖 "inclined to brood over something trivial, paranoid, oversensitive".
> 3. ...figuratively 气量胸怀 "capacity to tolerate/accommodate others" ==> 小心眼 = 胸襟狭隘 "intolerant, unmagnanimous, unaccommodating".


This word is not an easy one to translate, eh! Thanks for finding these other definitions and to everyone else for your help as well!! I think I understand the word better now


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## 我为英语狂

In this context, “小心眼儿” means “being cheap, being stingy” in American English and “being mean with money” in British English.


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## SuperXW

我为英语狂 said:


> In this context, “小心眼儿” means “being cheap, being stingy” in American English and “being mean with money” in British English.


Not necessarily. It could mean other things as the other members said.


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## 我为英语狂

Excuse me? Haven't you seen " In this context" in my reply?


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## SuperXW

我为英语狂 said:


> Excuse me? Haven't you seen " In this context" in my reply?


I don't know why, but I don't remember the specific context provided by baosheng. Now since it's in his thread, I, of course, totally agree with your explanation! 
It's Either I missed that context or he has modified the thread after I've read it.


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## xiaolijie

SuperXW said:


> I don't know why, but I don't remember the specific context provided by baosheng. Now since it's in his thread, I, of course, totally agree with your explanation!
> It's Either I missed that context or he has modified the thread after I've read it.


The PO didn't modify his post, but it's very common that when we read quickly, we all miss out something sometimes


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## yuechu

Oh, I was indeed interested in various uses of this word (both in the context provided and other uses as well) so appreciate everyone's contributions, which I found very helpful 
谢谢大家！


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## Skatinginbc

In the context provided in the OP, my natural, automatic response would be: "Is she complaining that he is cheap or else?"  The context obviously points to "cheap, stingy", but the conventional definitions of 小心眼 do not.    As a result, it creates a feeling of unsureness, a combination of "his being cheap" and "莫名其妙, 不知所云".  小心眼 can mean 氣量狹小, but from 氣量狹小 to "cheap, stingy" is a jump that my  brain is not able to process in time in a real-life conversation (I'm  not talking about the interpretation we may obtain after analyzing the  written, summarized "artificial" context as many times as needed).


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## panzerfaust0

Petty-minded-ness is what I'd use.


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## Lamb67

For all the good he has done for us, he is just a scheming type.

He is more interested in his own parents ' financial needs than in hers.

I bet she would be the boss in the family anyway.


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