NOTE: See note on 姑娘 gūniang.xiǎojiě 小姐 [comp: 小 young + 姐 elder sister] N young lady; Miss ■ 有一位小姐要见你。Yǒu yí wèi
xiǎojiě yào jiàn nǐ. There’s a young lady wanting to see you. ■ 王先生、王太太和他们的女儿王
小姐都在美国旅行。Wáng xiānsheng, Wáng tàitai hé tāmen de nǚ’ér Wáng xiǎojiě dōu zài
Měiguó lǚxíng. Mr and Mrs Wang, with their daughter Miss Wang, are all traveling in the United
States.
NOTE: 小姐 xiǎojiě is a common form of address to a young (or not so young) woman. If her family name
is not known, just use 小姐 xiǎojiě. 小姐 xiǎojiě is also the form of address for a waitress or female
attendant, e.g. ■ 小姐，请给我一杯水。Xiǎojiě, qǐng gěi wǒ yì bēi shuǐ. Please give me a glass of water.
xiǎomài 小麦 N wheat ■ 在中国北方粮食以小麦 为主。Zài Zhōngguó běifang liángshi yǐ xiǎomài wéi
zhǔ. In northern China, wheat is the main cereal crop.
xiǎopéngyou 小朋友 N (a friendly form of address or reference to a child) ■ 小朋友，你们校 长办公
室在哪里? Xiǎopéngyou, nǐmen xiàozhǎng bàngōngshì zài nǎlǐ? Where’s your headmaster’s office,
children?
xiǎoqì 小气 ADJ stingy, miserly
xiǎoshí 小时 [modif: 小 small + 时 time] N hour ■ 我等你等了一个半小时了。Wǒ děng nǐ děngle yí
ge bàn xiǎoshí le. I’ve been waiting for you for an hour and a half. 半小时 bàn xiǎoshí half an hour
xiǎoshuō 小说 [modif: 小 small + 说 talk] N novel (本 běn, 篇 piān) ■ 这本小说的作者有丰富的生活
经历。Zhè běn xiǎoshuō de zuòzhě yǒu fēngfù de shēnghuó jīnglì. The author of this novel has
had rich life experiences. ■ 这篇小说语言优美，但是 没有多大意思。Zhè piān xiǎoshuō yǔyán
yōuměi, dànshì méiyǒu duō dà yìsi. The language of this story is beautiful but it is not very
meaningful. 爱情小说 àiqíng xiǎoshuō romance novel / 长 篇小说 chángpiān xiǎoshuō novel / 短篇小说
duǎnpiān xiǎoshuō short story, story / 历史小说 lìshǐ xiǎoshuō historical novel
xiǎoshuōjiā 小说家 N (accomplished) novelist
xiǎotōu 小偷 [modif: 小 small, petty + 偷 thief] N thief ■ 抓小偷！抓小偷！Zhuā xiǎotōu! Zhuā
xiǎotōu! Stop thief! Stop thief!
xiǎoxīn 小心 [modif: 小 small + 心 the heart] ADJ careful, cautious ■ 他说话、做事都很小心。Tā
shuōhuà, zuòshì dōu hěn xiǎoxīn. He is cautious in speech and action.
xiǎoxīn yìyì 小心翼翼 ADJ with the greatest of care, extremely cautious ■ 今天有雾，开车要特 别小
心。Jīntiān yǒu wù, kāichē yào tèbié xiǎoxīn. It’s foggy today. You need to be particularly careful
while driving.
xiǎoxué 小学 [modif: 小 small + 学 school] N primary school (座 zuò, 所 suǒ) ■ 这座小学操场太
小，孩子没地方玩。Zhè zuò xiǎoxué cāochǎng tài xiǎo, háizi méi dìfang wán. This primary
school’s sports ground is too small and the children have nowhere to play.
xiǎozǔ 小组 N small group (for work or study)
xiǎo 晓 TRAD 曉 V know
xiǎode 晓得 V same as 知道 zhīdào. Only used in colloquial Chinese.
xiào 孝 N filial piety
xiàoshùn 孝顺 [comp: 孝 filial piety + 顺 obedience] V & N perform one’s filial duties faithfully, be
obedient and considerate of one’s parents; filial piety ■ 他很孝顺父母。Tā hěn xiàoshùn fùmǔ. He
is obedient and considerate of his parents.
xiào 效 N effect
xiàoguǒ 效果 [comp: 效 effect + 果 result] N effect, result ■ 对孩子太严格，往往效果不 好。Duì
háizi tài yángé, wǎngwǎng xiàoguǒ bù hǎo. Being too strict with children often gives poor results.
■ 这种新方法效果怎么样？Zhè zhǒng xīn fāngfǎ xiàoguǒ zěnmeyàng? How effective is this new
method?
xiàolǜ 效率 [modif: 效 effect + 率 rate] N efficiency ■ 我们必须不断提高工作效率。Wǒmen bìxū
búduàn tígāo gōngzuò xiàolǜ. We must constantly increase work efficiency.