lìn

variant of 吝[lin4]

culture/script (文) + mouth (口) = stingy, reluctant to open up

文 here likely plays a phonetic role, contributing to the lìn sound. The mouth radical grounds the idea of being stingy with words — reluctant to let anything out.

+
MouthSemantic
WritingPhonetic

他这个人太啬,从不请人吃饭。

tā zhè ge rén tài lìn sè, cóng bù qǐng rén chī fàn。

this person is too stingy, never treats anyone to a meal.

她对钱很惜,买东西总是挑最便宜的。

tā duì qián hěn lìn xī, mǎi dōng xi zǒng shì tiāo zuì pián yi de。

she is very sparing with money, always picking the cheapest things when shopping.

Words with 吝

鄙吝

bǐ lìn

vulgar

不吝

bù lìn

not to stint; to be generous (with praise etc); to be prepared to (pay a fee, give of one's time etc)

不吝珠玉

bù lìn zhū yù

(idiom) (courteous) please give me your frank opinion; your criticism will be most valuable

不吝赐教

bù lìn cì jiào

to be so kind as to enlighten me

吝啬

lìn sè

stingy; mean; miserly

吝啬鬼

lìn sè guǐ

miser; penny-pincher

吝惜

lìn xī

to stint; to be miserly

悭吝

qiān lìn

(literary) miserly; stingy

More characters with 文