短小 (duǎnxiǎo): short and small

Meanings

1 short and small
2 brief and concise (of writings)
3 short (of stature)

Characters

短

Examples

这篇文章短小精悍。

Zhè piān wénzhāng duǎnxiǎo jīnghàn.

This article is short, sharp, and to the point.

他身材短小,但很灵活。

Tā shēncái duǎnxiǎo, dàn hěn línghuó.

He is short in stature but very nimble.

Tips

usage

Most often appears in the four-character set phrase 短小精悍 (duǎnxiǎo jīnghàn, "short and powerful") — used to praise concise writing, lean fighters, or compact effective products. Used of physical size for people, 短小 is neutral-to-slightly-negative compared to the more polite 矮小 (ǎixiǎo).

memory

短 (short — in length/duration) + 小 (small — in size). The pairing covers two dimensions at once.