半弔子 半吊子 Bàn Diàozi Coins Strung Deficient Skill

半弔子 / 半吊子 bàn diàozi

Someone deficient in skill or mental ability. In ancient China, copper coins had square holes in the center and were strung together on a string. One thousand coins strung together formed a diào. Half of that (five hundred coins) was called 半弔子 / 半吊子 bàn diàozi (bahn dyow dz). Northern Chinese only, and seldom used today, but necessary to understand the more commonly used insult below.