lìn
adjective #88,656

Meanings

  1. 1 stingy
  2. 2 miserly
  3. 3 grudging

Examples

Tā fēicháng lìnsè, yìfēnqián yě shěbude huā.
He is so stingy that he won't even spend a single cent.
Qǐng bú lìn cìjiào.
Please do not be grudging with your valuable advice.

Tips

usage
means unwilling to give. The common word is 吝啬 (stingy). The polite phrase 不吝赐教 ('do not grudge your instruction') is a humble way to ask for someone's advice.

Components

radical
kǒu
mouth
The mouth radical at the base, the indexing radical. It suggests holding back, mouth shut tight, not letting things out, which matches the grudging, tight-fisted meaning.
phonetic
wén
writing; pattern
The top element supplies the sound, wén shifting to lìn. Its 'writing' meaning plays no role here; it works purely as the phonetic part.

Stroke Order

lìn