一毛不拔

yī máo bù bá

HSK 3.0 Level 7

Definitions

1. stingy (idiom)

Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 慷慨 kāng kǎi 慷慨 kāng kǎi vehement; fervent 大方不吝啬: vehement; fervent

Register variants

1 item

• 铁公鸡 tiě gōng jī 铁公鸡 tiě gōng jī cheapskate 口语中比喻一毛不拔的人: cheapskate

Related words

1 item

• 大手大脚 dà shǒu dà jiǎo 大手大脚 dà shǒu dà jiǎo extravagant (idiom); to throw away money by the handful 形容花钱没有节制，反义相关: extravagant (idiom); to throw away money by the handful

Synonyms

1 item

• 吝啬 lìn sè 吝啬 lìn sè stingy 形容人非常小气: stingy

Usage notes

Common mistakes

“一毛不拔”只用于形容人吝啬，不能用于形容物品或数量少。

Formality

多用于书面或正式场合，口语中常用“铁公鸡”。

Example Sentences

1 shown

他很有钱，但 一毛不拔 。

He is very rich, but he won't give a single cent.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 一毛不拔

• 一 一 yī: one
• 不 不 bù: no; not so
• 拔 拔 bá: to pull up
• 毛 毛 máo: hair