混子

hùnzi

noun

Measure Word

一个混子 gè

Meanings

1 hoodlum
2 loafer
3 good-for-nothing
4 person drifting through life on the margins

Characters

to muddle through; to mix

(noun suffix denoting a person)

Examples

他年轻时是个街头混子，后来才走上正道。

Tā niánqīng shí shì ge jiētóu hùnzi, hòulái cái zǒushàng zhèngdào.

When he was young he was a street hoodlum; later he straightened himself out.

公司里几个混子整天上班摸鱼。

Gōngsī lǐ jǐ ge hùnzi zhěngtiān shàngbān mōyú.

A few slackers in the company spend the whole workday goofing off.

Tips

register

Colloquial and pejorative. Two flavors: a small-time street thug (街头混子), or someone who 'just gets by' at work without contributing (职场混子). Use only when the contempt is intended.

memory

From 混 (hùn, to muddle through / mix in). A 混子 muddles through life — the suffix 子 turns it into a person-noun, like 骗子 (piànzi, swindler).

Stroke Order

混 hùn

子 zǐ