Chinese word

小杯

Pronunciation

Pinyinxiǎo bēi

Meaning

  • nounsmall cup

Example

请给孩子一小杯水。qǐng gěi hái zi yì xiǎo bēi shuǐ

Please give the child a small cup of water.

Illustration for 小杯 (small cup)

More examples

他用小杯试喝了新配方的饮料。tā yòng xiǎo bēi shì hē le xīn pèi fāng de yǐn liào

He used a small cup to taste-test the newly formulated drink.

Core concept

A cup at the small end of a shop's size scale, rather than just any physically small cup.

Common phrases

  • 倒小杯水dào xiǎo bēi shuǐ

    pour water into a small cup

  • 喝一小杯酒hē yì xiǎo bēi jiǔ

    drink a small cup of alcohol

Similar words

杯子bēi zi: An ordinary container for holding a drink.
小杯子xiǎo bēi zi: A small cup described in informal everyday speech.
中杯zhōng bēi: A medium drink cup offered as a menu category.

Definition in Chinese

饮品店或菜单中表示最小容量的杯型，常与中杯、大杯等规格相对。yín pǐn diàn huò cài dān zhōng biǎo shì zuì xiǎo róng liàng de bēi xíng cháng yǔ zhōng bēi dà bēi děng guī gé xiāng duì

Word origin

小杯 (xiǎobēi, "small cup") is formed by joining 小 (xiǎo, "small") + 杯 (bēi, "cup"), turning an ordinary cup description into a menu size term.

Usage tips

  • In everyday ordering, the smallest size is a category rather than a fixed measurement, so the actual amount can differ between shops and brands.

Word lists with this word