鐵公雞

See also: 铁公鸡

Chinese

FWOTD – 9 January 2022

		iron	cock; rooster
trad. (鐵公雞/鐵公鷄)		鐵	公雞/公鷄
simp. (铁公鸡)		铁	公鸡

Etymology

“cheapstake; scrooge”

First part of the xiehouyu 鐵公雞——一毛不拔／铁公鸡——一毛不拔 (literally “iron rooster—not a feather to pluck”).

“fist fight”

From the title of a Qing opera about the Taiping Rebellion which involved many fighting scenes.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): tiěgōngjī

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄝˇ ㄍㄨㄥ ㄐㄧ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): tit³ gung¹ gai¹
• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁷thiq-kon-ci

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: tiěgōngjī
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄝˇ ㄍㄨㄥ ㄐㄧ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: tiěgongji
    • Wade–Giles: tʻieh³-kung¹-chi¹
    • Yale: tyě-gūng-jī
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tieegongji
    • Palladius: тегунцзи (tegunczi)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰi̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹ kʊŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: tit³ gung¹ gai¹
    • Yale: tit gūng gāi
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tit⁸ gung¹ gai¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: tid³ gung¹ gei¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰiːt̚³ kʊŋ⁵⁵ kɐi̯⁵⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁷thiq-kon-ci
    • MiniDict: thih^入 kon ci
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁴thiq-kon-ji
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /tʰiɪʔ³³ koŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕi²¹/

Noun

鐵公雞

1. (xiehouyu, figurative) cheapskate; scrooge (Classifier: 個／个 m c)

   • 搞了半天，謝師宴是請我來這個小麪店吃東西呀！你真是個鐵公雞，那不是便宜你了嗎？ [MSC, trad.]
     搞了半天，谢师宴是请我来这个小面店吃东西呀！你真是个铁公鸡，那不是便宜你了吗？ [MSC, simp.]

     From: 2010, 馬翠蘿, 《星月童話·遇上百分百王子》, page 132

     Gǎo le bàntiān, xièshīyàn shì qǐng wǒ lái zhège xiǎo 麵diàn chī dōngxi ya! Nǐ zhēn shì ge tiěgōngjī, nà bùshì piányi nǐ le ma? [Pinyin]

     After all this, you're just going to treat me to something at this small noodle shop as the teacher appreciation banquet! You're such a cheapskate. Isn't this letting you off too easily?

2. (chiefly Singapore) fist fight

   上演鐵公雞／上演铁公鸡  ―  shàngyǎn tiěgōngjī  ―  to have a fist fight

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 吝嗇鬼 (“miser; penny pincher”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		吝嗇鬼, 小氣鬼, 鐵公雞
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	貧摳兒, 摳門兒, 小摳兒, 死摳兒, 小氣鬼, 嗇刻鬼, 嗇殼子, 鐵公雞
	Taiwan	吝嗇鬼, 小氣鬼, 鐵公雞, 守財奴
	Langfang	小摳兒
	Chengde	老摳兒
	Chifeng	吝嗇鬼, 小摳兒
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	看財奴, 小摳兒
	Heihe	吝嗇鬼, 小店兒
	Qiqihar	吝嗇鬼
	Harbin	吝嗇鬼, 小摳兒, 小氣鬼, 窮頭
	Jiamusi	吝嗇鬼, 小摳兒, 小店兒
	Baicheng	吝嗇鬼, 小摳
	Changchun	吝嗇鬼, 小摳兒
	Tonghua	小摳兒
	Shenyang	吝嗇鬼, 小摳兒
	Jinzhou	吝嗇鬼, 看財奴, 小摳兒
	Malaysia	吝嗇鬼
	Singapore	吝嗇鬼
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	窮摳兒, 老錢包兒
	Tangshan	老摳, 摳惜, 摳吸鬼兒
	Cangzhou	吝嗇鬼, 老細絲, 摳兒
	Baoding	看財奴, 守財奴
	Shijiazhuang	老摳兒
	Lijin	小氣鬼, 死摳
	Jinan	小氣鬼, 看財奴, 鐵公雞
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Dalian	小摳兒
	Dandong	吝嗇鬼
	Yantai	小氣鬼兒
	Yantai (Muping)	小摳摳兒
	Qingdao	小氣鬼, 老割
	Zhucheng	玍古蛋子
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	小摳兒, 摳癟嗇, 鐵公雞, 琉璃公雞蘸皮膠, 看財奴, 老摳
	Lingbao	吝嗇鬼
	Jining	小氣鬼, 甲魚頭
	Daming	老摳兒
	Wanrong	小氣鬼, 鐵公雞
	Linfen	仔細佬鬼
	Shangqiu	吝嗇鬼, 老尖頭, 老摳兒
	Yuanyang	摳兒, 小氣
	Zhengzhou	老摳兒, 鐵公雞
	Xinyang	嗇條
	Baihe	吝嗇鬼, 嗇皮
	Xi'an	吝嗇鬼, 嗇皮, 嗇皮甲甲子, 鐵公雞
	Baoji	嗇皮
	Tianshui	小氣鬼
	Xining	小氣鬼, 摳皮蟲兒, 老摳, 摳摳
	Xuzhou	搜摳兒, 搜屄摳兒, 小氣鬼兒, 小氣鬼, 小摳兒, 肉頭
	Fuyang	吝嗇鬼
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	小氣毛, 嗇鱉
	Lanzhou	嗇子皮, 鐵公雞, 嗇皮鬼, 小氣鬼
	Dunhuang	嗇皮, 嗇鬼, 冰草根
	Hami	嗇皮, 毬皮, 小氣鬼
	Ürümqi	窮倯鬼, 小氣鬼, 嗇皮鬼, 嗇皮, 老嗇皮, 老摳兒
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	嗇夾子, 嗇家子, 苟夾夾, 吝嗇鬼, 老坎, 老牛筋
	Nanchong	吝嗇鬼
	Dazhou	夾
	Hanyuan	老牛筋, 嗇洽子
	Xichang	吝嗇鬼
	Zigong	吝嗇鬼, 老慳, 嗇皮鬼
	Chongqing	吝嗇鬼, 鐵雞娃兒, 財狗, 夾, 逗角兒
	Wuhan	吝嗇鬼, 小氣鬼, 慳蛋
	Yichang	吝嗇鬼, 小氣鬼
	Xiangyang	嗇家鬼, 小氣鬼
	Tianmen	吝嗇鬼, 小氣鬼
	Guiyang	夾摳客, 夾殼核桃, 摳摳客, 摳神, 財迷, 老財迷
	Zunyi	夾殼兒
	Bijie	夾摳老者, 財迷
	Liping	吝嗇鬼
	Zhaotong	小氣鬼
	Dali	尖鉤鉤, 尖鉤子
	Kunming	吝嗇鬼, 小氣鬼
	Mengzi	小氣鬼
	Guilin	小氣鬼
	Liuzhou	小氣鬼, 沙屁股, 鐵公雞
	Jishou	錐子婆, 過勁婆
	Changde	小氣鬼
	Hanzhong	吝嗇鬼, 嗇皮
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	小氣鬼, 嗇摳, 嗇皮乾兒, 嗇乾兒, 嗇兒鬼, 摳頭兒
	Yangzhou	小氣鬼子, 嗇刻鬼, 嗇巴子, 嗇屄苛子
	Lianyungang	吝嗇鬼, 小氣鬼, 肉頭
	Lianshui	小氣鬼
	Nantong	鐵公雞, 小氣鬼, 小氣鬼兒
	Anqing	小氣鬼
	Wuhu	摳巴生
	Hefei	吝嗇鬼, 小氣鬼, 摳巴精
	Hong'an	小氣鬼
Cantonese	Guangzhou	度縮, 孤寒度, 孤寒種, 孤寒鬼, 算死草, 阿隔, 鐵沙梨, 知微友, 知慎友
	Hong Kong	度縮, 孤寒度, 孤寒種, 孤寒鬼, 算死草
	Dongguan	度縮, 孤寒種, 孤寒蟲, 孤寒鬼
Gan	Nanchang	嗇鬼, 嗇屄
	Lichuan	慳吝鬼
Hakka	Meixian	齧鬼, 淒老鬼, 吝嗇鬼
	Xingning	孤寒鬼
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	孤寒佬, 孤寒鬼, 孤寒度, 孤寒搭度, 孤寒種, 蔑屑鬼
	Huizhou (Shuikou Bendihua)	孤寒佬
	Huizhou (Hengli Bendihua)	孤寒佬
	Huidong (Pingshan Bendihua)	孤寒佬
	Huidong (Daling)	小氣鬼
	Longmen (Pingling Bendihua)	孤寒佬
	Longmen (Luxi Bendihua)	孤寒佬
	Boluo (Bendihua)	孤寒鬼, 孤寒佬
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	孤寒種
	Zijin (Guzhu Bendihua)	孤寒佬
	Longchuan (Tuocheng Bendihua)	孤寒佬
	Longchuan (Sidu Bendihua)	寒酸佬
	Heping (Linzhai Bendihua)	孤寒鬼
	Lianping (Zhongxin Bendihua)	小蔑鬼
	Lianping (Longjie Bendihua)	小蔑鬼
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	齧察鬼
	Xinfeng (Matou Bendihua)	孤寒佬
	Xinfeng (Daxi Bendihua)	孤寒鬼
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	小氣鬼
	Changting	齧察鬼
	Wuping (Pingyu)	齧察貨
	Yudu	齧察鬼
	Ruijin	齧察鬼, 鼻血鬼
	Shangyou (Shexi)	惡蛆
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	齧鬼, 齧察鬼, 錢桊仔
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	齧鬼, 齧察鬼, 錢桊仔
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	齧鬼, 齧察鬼, 錢桊仔
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	齧鬼, 齧察鬼, 錢桊
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	齧鬼, 齧察鬼, 錢桊仔
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	虯鬼, 錢桊
Huizhou	Jixi	小毛鬼, 小氣鬼, 鐵公雞
	Shexian	小氣鬼, 小米鬼
Jin	Taiyuan	圪沁頭, 圪噙頭, 圪縮鬼, 小氣鬼, 看財奴, 窟綠圪蛋
	Yangyuan	吝嗇鬼, 老摳
	Datong	吝嗇鬼
	Xinzhou	把家猴, 看財奴兒
	Lüliang (Lishi)	精骨子, 財迷精
	Changzhi	摳摳手, 老財迷
	Linhe	小氣鬼, 憋腦, 缺頭
	Jining	吝嗇鬼
	Hohhot	老缺頭
	Erenhot	小氣鬼
	Pingshan	老惜絲
	Zhangjiakou	吝嗇鬼, 老摳
	Handan	老摳兒, 小氣
	Suide	嗇皮, 老摳兒
Northern Min	Jian'ou	嗇鄙鬼
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	貽順哥, 奸狡利, 十絕哥
	Fuqing	小氣鬼, 貽順哥
Southern Min	Xiamen	枵鬼儂, 貓𡳞儂 vulgar, 㾀屎儂 vulgar
	Quanzhou	枵鬼儂
	Jinjiang	㾀屎客 vulgar
	Yongchun	鱉囝
	Zhangzhou	枵鬼儂
	Tainan	竭仔哥, 竭仔頭, 凍霜仔鬼, 錢奴才
	Shantou	鹹澀鬼
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	鹹澀鬼
	Jieyang	鹹澀佬, 鼠鬼相
	Leizhou	刺麻傍
	Haikou	鹹澀鬼
Puxian Min	Putian	牛螕, 馬貽順, 石骹桶, 財主鬼
	Xianyou	牛螕, 石骹桶, 鐵粗桸, 財主鬼
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	小氣鬼
Wu	Shanghai	小氣鬼, 密屑鬼, 刮皮鬼, 鐵公雞, 老刮鏟
	Shanghai (Chongming)	小氣精
	Suzhou	掐煞鬼, 嗇客
	Danyang	嗇掐鬼, 小氣鬼
	Hangzhou	小氣鬼, 小氣鬼兒, 精馬鬼兒, 鐵公雞
	Ningbo	小氣屄, 刮皮鬼
	Wenzhou	小氣屄, 貓兒屄, 貓屄客, 臭皮蛋
	Jinhua	小氣鬼, 刻嗇鬼
Xiang	Changsha	摳鬼
	Loudi	小相鬼

Further reading

• “Entry #14682”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.
• Singaporean Mandarin Database