打小算盘 in English da3 xiao3 suan4 pan2 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) to count on a narrow abacus (idiomatic expression); petty and scheming selfishly
  • concerned with petty interests
  • selfish and uncaring of the interests of others
  • bean counter

Simplified Characters

打 小 算 盘

Traditional Characters

打 小 算 盤

Pinyin

da3 xiao3 suan4 pan2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

打da3dozen (loanword) 小xiao3small 算suan4to regard as 盘pan2plate