娇气 - good English translation?

[tooironic]

My Chinese-Chinese dictionary defines 娇气 as:

①形性格脆弱，吃不得苦，受不得委屈。

这孩子太娇气，说他两句就受不了。

Any ideas on an English translation?

[li3wei1]

hyper-sensitive, or oversensitive, or in the right context, just sensitive.

high(ly)-strung?

[skylee]

I think it is the same as 嬌生慣養. Pleco gives "pampered and spoiled". I suggest "spoiled".

[Peter2010]

“fragile” comes first in my mind.

[gato]

I agree with skylee. The translation would be vary depending on how it is used, but "spoiled" is probably the most common usage, like when you are describing a child, or a girl

I am surprised the ABC Dictionary doesn't have "spoiled" in its definitions:

娇气[嬌氣]

¹jiāoqì

S.V. ① fragile; delicate ② squeamish; finicky

[tooironic]

I think this is an example where most C-E dictionaries have it wrong. Describing someone as "fragile" or "delicate" sounds decidely antiquated to my ears, and "squeamish" and "finicky" and are just plain wrong as far as I can see. Check out their Oxford dictionary definitions:

squeamish: (of a person) easily made to feel sick, faint, or disgusted, esp. by unpleasant images, such as the sight of blood: he was a bit squeamish at the sight of the giant needles. • (of a person) having strong moral views; scrupulous: she was not squeamish about using her social influence in support of her son.

finicky: (of a person) fussy about one's needs or requirements: a finicky eater. • showing or requiring great attention to detail: a finicky, almost fetishistic collector.

Now, do those concepts have anything to do with 娇气?

"Sensitive" (having a quick appreciation of others' feelings/easily upset) and "highly strung" (very nervous and easily upset) seem inaccurate. I think "spoiled" is fine as a reference translation, but technically that refers to 宠坏, which is only one part of 娇气, the other part being the 吃不得苦，受不得委屈 part. *Sigh*. Thanks anyway for the suggestions.

[gato]

Squeamish and finicky could be appropriate, depending on the usage. Maybe not as a translation, but they do fit with the 不能吃苦 part of the meaning.

Spoiled does also connote 不能吃苦, so I think it works.