鬼点子

鬼點子
guǐdiǎnzi
noun #37,300

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 devious idea
  2. 2 wicked scheme
  3. 3 sly trick
  4. 4 (sometimes affectionate) crafty notion

Examples

Tā guǐdiǎnzi zhēn duō.
He's really got a lot of crafty ideas up his sleeve.
Bié yòu chū guǐdiǎnzi zhuōnòng rén.
Don't come up with another sneaky scheme to mess with people.

Tips

register
Colloquial. The tone slides from disapproving ('underhanded scheme') to teasing-affectionate ('clever little trick'), depending on speaker and context. Saying a child has 鬼点子 is usually fond — the child is mischievous and bright. Saying a coworker has 鬼点子 in a serious context is closer to 'shifty.'
memory
(guǐ) literally 'ghost,' but in compounds it means 'sly / sneaky / crafty' (鬼鬼祟祟 guǐguǐsuìsuì 'sneakily,' 鬼主意 guǐzhǔyi 'sneaky idea'). 点子 (diǎnzi) is colloquial for 'idea, plan.' Stack them: 'sneaky-ideas.'

Stroke Order

guǐ
diǎn