\tI’m particularly fond of affix characters in Chinese, and what more vibrant an example than \u9b3c gu\u01d0 (“ghost; devil”)?<\/p>\n
\t\u9b54\u9b3c mógu\u01d0 <\/strong>(“evil devil”) – demon
\t\u61d2\u9b3c l\u01cengu\u01d0 <\/strong>(“lazy devil”) – lazybones
\t\u9152\u9b3c ji\u01d4gu\u01d0<\/strong> (“alcohol ghost”) – alcoholic; drunkard
\t\u9189\u9b3c zuìgu\u01d0<\/strong> (“drunk devil”) – drunkard
\t\u70df\u9b3c y\u0101ngu\u01d0<\/strong> (“smoke devil”) – opium addict; chain smoker
\t\u8c03\u76ae\u9b3c tiáopígu\u01d0<\/strong> (“naughty devil”) – naughty child
\t\u6363\u86cb\u9b3c d\u01ceodàngu\u01d0<\/strong> (“make-trouble devil”) – same as #6
\t\u5438\u8840\u9b3c x\u012bxuègu\u01d0 <\/strong>(“suck-blood devil”) – vampire
\t\u9b3c\u4f6c gu\u01d0l\u01ceo<\/strong> (“devil old-guy”) – foreigner (usually derogatory)
\t\u80c6\u5c0f\u9b3c d\u01cenxi\u01ceogu\u01d0<\/strong> (“small-gut devil”) – coward; chicken
\t\u4e8c\u9b3c\u5b50 èrgu\u01d0zi <\/strong>(“two-ghost-thing”) – a “banana” – someone yellow (Asian) on the outside but white (Caucasian) on the inside (derogatory)*
\t\u77ed\u547d\u9b3c du\u01cenmìnggu\u01d0<\/strong> (“short-life devil”) – someone who dies at a young age
\t\u8d4c\u9b3c d\u01d4gu\u01d0 <\/strong>(“gambling ghost”) – gambling addict
\t\u997f\u9b3c ègu\u01d0<\/strong> (“hungry ghost”) – someone who is always hungry; someone with a big appetite
\t\u673a\u7075\u9b3c j\u012blinggu\u01d0<\/strong> (“clever ghost”) – clever person
\t\u80e1\u6d82\u9b3c hútugu\u01d0 <\/strong>(“confused ghost”) – someone who often seems confused and\/or stupid
\t\u8272\u9b3c sègu\u01d0<\/strong> (“lust ghost”) – lecher; person who engages in sexual excess (no exact word for this in English perhaps?)
\t\u5389\u9b3c lìgu\u01d0 <\/strong>(“terrible ghost”) – evil spirit
\t\u998b\u9b3c chángu\u01d0 <\/strong>(“gluttonous ghost”) – pig (someone who eats too much)
\t\u50ac\u547d\u9b3c cu\u012bmìnggu\u01d0 <\/strong>(“prodding ghost”) – someone who keeps pushing people to do things; a nagger
\t\u6b7b\u9b3c s\u01d0gu\u01d0 <\/strong>(“dead ghost”) – a negative but playful term used between spouses
\t\u9b3c\u5b50 gu\u01d0zi<\/strong> (“devil-thing”) – foreign devil (derogatory)
\t\u9b3c\u602a gu\u01d0guài <\/strong>(“ghost-monster”) – ghosts and monsters
\t\u89c1\u9b3c jiàngu\u01d0 <\/strong>(“see ghost”) – go to Hell!
\t\u9b3c\u77e5\u9053 gu\u01d0 zh\u012bdào<\/strong> (“ghost knows”) – Heaven knows!<\/p>\n