<p>This word is obviously from a half-fictional character with the nickname of “Zhou Bapi” 周扒皮 which was well known during the 1950s and 60s.</p>

<p>“Zhou Chunfu 周春富, who owned over 200 hectares of farmland in Dalian, was also identified as a landlord. His story became widely known after the soldier-writer Gao Yubao's semi-fictitious autobiography depicted Zhou as a landlord who allegedly mimicked a crowing rooster to get his hired laborers to work early. ”</p>

<p>In that fiction, Zhou was then mistaken as a chicken thief and shot by a Japanese soldier. The fiction grew so popular in the 1950s and 60s that this word became a phrase in some areas. But although this novel was believed to be semi-autobiographic, in recent years researchers found this novel was far from reality and was a product for the purpose of political propaganda.</p>

<p><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AB%98%E7%8E%89%E5%AE%9D_(%E5%B0%8F%E8%AF%B4)" rel="nofollow">https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AB%98%E7%8E%89%E5%AE%9D_(%E5%B0%8F%E8%AF%B4)</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.86wiki.com/view/586712.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.86wiki.com/view/586712.htm</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-14T08:52:41.950Z
Could you explain how the word is derived from “Zhou Bapi”?
user238264
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-14T11:41:22.480Z
zhou bapi is an extremely stingy, and  he was then mistaken as a chicken thief and shot by a Japanese soldier  in the end dramatically.Since everyone knows the novel,everyone knows "chicken thief" refers to "zhou bapi"=stingy man.Eventually,"chicken thief" refers to being stingy.
hillleigh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-14T08:13:06.117Z
2015-07-17T13:49:18.767Z
2015-07-17T13:49:18.767Z
hillleigh
<p>This means a kind of ability of saving money or get more or cost little than others. 
For example, you buy a coco-cola, the waiter will add some ice to the cup. Ice is cheaper than coco-cola. If you ask the waiter not add ice at all, then you cost the same amount of money as other people but buy more valuable thing. This kind of action could be said 鸡贼。</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-08T07:54:48.043Z
The question is the origin, not the meaning.
NS.X.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-08T16:37:53.597Z
Welcome to CL&U, don't worry you'll get the hang of it :)
jsj
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-08T14:18:14.583Z
I tried this in Japan last week & they just gave me less of the drink, plus it was lukewarm!
aelephant
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-15T12:13:58.193Z
So it means "cheapskate"?
Jens Jensen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-08T05:58:24.227Z
2013-03-08T16:16:39.110Z
2013-03-08T16:16:39.110Z
chen dong
<p>According to this page: <a href="http://www.baike.com/wiki/%E9%B8%A1%E8%B4%BC%E7%94%B7" rel="nofollow">http://www.baike.com/wiki/%E9%B8%A1%E8%B4%BC%E7%94%B7</a> 鸡贼 stems from a popular online article that coined the term.  Specifically, this article: <a href="http://www.vdolady.com/html/17/n-4017.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.vdolady.com/html/17/n-4017.html</a></p>

<p>For posterity, baike claims that the origin of the term is:</p>

<p>“鸡贼男来源于网络热帖。杭州一男士与女友外出晚餐，女友吃面3.5元，又要一瓶饮料3.5元。</p>

<p>男士大为不满，认为女友吃太多想分手。他说女友如果口渴可以吃汤面或者喝1元1瓶的矿泉水，甚至回家喝水，为什么还要在外面喝饮料?在女友发帖控诉后，这个男人又上网辩称自己年收入10万元，为了供房，自己早餐只用2元，午餐公司里吃，晚餐不会超过5元，为什么女友就做不到同样节省，一餐吃了他一天的饭钱？和女友交往已经一年，一共花费了他300元买戒指和鲜花，这个开销实在太大了，现在不节约，等中年再节约就来不及了。”</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-10T04:28:43.890Z
Occasionally, we see the links go away for some reasons. I like the explanation provided by the first link. How about copy the first section of that first link in case it disappears.
Nobody
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-10T04:51:26.903Z
added it, but in the future feel free to edit my post yourself if you see room for improvement
user238264
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-10T05:15:40.207Z
Your linked articles and excerpt do not explain where 鸡贼男 comes from; the only specific mention is that it comes from Beijing dialect. That's no more informative than the question.
congusbongus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-10T05:21:28.397Z
Well, it claims that 该新词来源于网络热贴 and later, saying virtually the same thing, 鸡贼男来源于网络热帖, but I cannot verify that assertion; I can only pass it on.
user238264
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-14T11:02:17.960Z
The linked article has clearly stated “这不免让人想起一个北京地方词汇——鸡贼。” As far as I can attest (I am from Beijing), the word has been there for at least 25 years. It can't be originated from the internet.
NS.X.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-10T04:22:12.917Z
2013-12-10T04:50:39.620Z
2013-12-10T04:50:39.620Z
user238264
<p>Canny and selfish.</p>

<p>例句：英国是世界上最鸡贼的国家。</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-25T15:18:51.893Z
2015-06-25T15:18:51.893Z
LeonF
<p>I speak Mandarin Chinese, but it is the first time that I stumbled upon the word 鸡贼. According to 百度百科 (Baidu wiki), it means being <em>stingy</em>. The wiki page also says that it comes from the Beijing dialect. Can anyone tell me what the origin of this word is?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-05T02:49:15.530Z
This might have something to do with 一毛不拔, but I am not 100% sure. Never heard of the term either.
deutschZuid
<mandarin><etymology>
The origin of 鸡贼
# The origin of 鸡贼

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-03-04)

I speak Mandarin Chinese, but it is the first time that I stumbled upon the word 鸡贼. According to 百度百科 (Baidu wiki), it means being *stingy*. The wiki page also says that it comes from the Beijing dialect. Can anyone tell me what the origin of this word is?

**Tags:** mandarin, etymology
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This might have something to do with 一毛不拔, but I am not 100% sure. Never heard of the term either.  

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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2013-12-14. Score: 6

This word is obviously from a half-fictional character with the nickname of “Zhou Bapi” 周扒皮 which was well known during the 1950s and 60s.

“Zhou Chunfu 周春富, who owned over 200 hectares of farmland in Dalian, was also identified as a landlord. His story became widely known after the soldier-writer Gao Yubao's semi-fictitious autobiography depicted Zhou as a landlord who allegedly mimicked a crowing rooster to get his hired laborers to work early. ”

In that fiction, Zhou was then mistaken as a chicken thief and shot by a Japanese soldier. The fiction grew so popular in the 1950s and 60s that this word became a phrase in some areas. But although this novel was believed to be semi-autobiographic, in recent years researchers found this novel was far from reality and was a product for the purpose of political propaganda.

<https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AB%98%E7%8E%89%E5%AE%9D_(%E5%B0%8F%E8%AF%B4)>

<http://www.86wiki.com/view/586712.htm>

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Could you explain how the word is derived from “Zhou Bapi”?  
> **username_2**: zhou bapi is an extremely stingy, and  he was then mistaken as a chicken thief and shot by a Japanese soldier  in the end dramatically.Since everyone knows the novel,everyone knows "chicken thief" refers to "zhou bapi"=stingy man.Eventually,"chicken thief" refers to being stingy.  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2013-03-08. Score: 0

This means a kind of ability of saving money or get more or cost little than others.
For example, you buy a coco-cola, the waiter will add some ice to the cup. Ice is cheaper than coco-cola. If you ask the waiter not add ice at all, then you cost the same amount of money as other people but buy more valuable thing. This kind of action could be said 鸡贼。

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: The question is the origin, not the meaning.  
> **username_6**: Welcome to CL&U, don't worry you'll get the hang of it :)  
> **username_7**: I tried this in Japan last week & they just gave me less of the drink, plus it was lukewarm!  
> **username_8**: So it means "cheapskate"?  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2013-12-10. Score: 0

According to this page: <http://www.baike.com/wiki/%E9%B8%A1%E8%B4%BC%E7%94%B7> 鸡贼 stems from a popular online article that coined the term. Specifically, this article: <http://www.vdolady.com/html/17/n-4017.html>

For posterity, baike claims that the origin of the term is:

“鸡贼男来源于网络热帖。杭州一男士与女友外出晚餐，女友吃面3.5元，又要一瓶饮料3.5元。

男士大为不满，认为女友吃太多想分手。他说女友如果口渴可以吃汤面或者喝1元1瓶的矿泉水，甚至回家喝水，为什么还要在外面喝饮料?在女友发帖控诉后，这个男人又上网辩称自己年收入10万元，为了供房，自己早餐只用2元，午餐公司里吃，晚餐不会超过5元，为什么女友就做不到同样节省，一餐吃了他一天的饭钱？和女友交往已经一年，一共花费了他300元买戒指和鲜花，这个开销实在太大了，现在不节约，等中年再节约就来不及了。”

> **Comments:**
> **username_9**: Occasionally, we see the links go away for some reasons. I like the explanation provided by the first link. How about copy the first section of that first link in case it disappears.  
> **username_3**: added it, but in the future feel free to edit my post yourself if you see room for improvement  
> **username_10**: Your linked articles and excerpt do not explain where 鸡贼男 comes from; the only specific mention is that it comes from Beijing dialect. That's no more informative than the question.  
> **username_3**: Well, it claims that 该新词来源于网络热贴 and later, saying virtually the same thing, 鸡贼男来源于网络热帖, but I cannot verify that assertion; I can only pass it on.  
> **username_5**: The linked article has clearly stated “这不免让人想起一个北京地方词汇——鸡贼。” As far as I can attest (I am from Beijing), the word has been there for at least 25 years. It can't be originated from the internet.  

---

### Answer by username_11 on 2015-06-25. Score: -1

Canny and selfish.

例句：英国是世界上最鸡贼的国家。


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