青樓

See also: 青楼

Chinese

		green (blue, black); Qinghai province (abbrev.)	house with more than 1 story; storied building; floor
trad. (青樓)		青	樓
simp. (青楼)		青	楼
Literally: “blue-green mansion”.

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): qīnglóu

  (Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄥ ㄌㄡˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): cing¹ lau⁴
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): chheng-lâu

  (Teochew, Peng'im): cên¹ lao⁵

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: qīnglóu
    • Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄥ ㄌㄡˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: cinglóu
    • Wade–Giles: chʻing¹-lou²
    • Yale: chīng-lóu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chinglou
    • Palladius: цинлоу (cinlou)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ loʊ̯³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: cing¹ lau⁴
    • Yale: chīng làuh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsing¹ lau⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: qing¹ leo⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵ lɐu̯²¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chheng-lâu
    • Tâi-lô: tshing-lâu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zhenglaau
    • IPA (Taipei): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ lau²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ lau²³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: cên¹ lao⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tsheⁿ lâu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰẽ³³⁻²³ lau⁵⁵/

Noun

青樓

1. (literary) brothel; whorehouse; pleasure quarters

Synonyms

• 個中／个中 (gèzhōng) (secret language, obsolete)
• 勾欄／勾栏 (gōulán) (archaic)
• 半開門／半开门 (⁵poe-khe-men) (Wu, dated)
• 嚮導社／向导社 (⁵shian-dau-zo) (Wu, dated)
• 妓樓／妓楼 (jìlóu) (literary)
• 妓院 (jìyuàn)
• 妓館／妓馆 (jìguǎn) (literary)
• 娼寮 (chāngliáo) (dated)
• 娼樓／娼楼 (chānglóu) (literary)
• 娼門／娼门 (chāngmén)
• 書寓／书寓 (¹sy-gniu) (Wu, dated)
• 煙花間／烟花间 (¹i-ho-ke) (Wu, dated)
• 窯／窑 (yáo) (colloquial)
• 窯子／窑子 (yáozi) (colloquial)
• 花柳 (huāliǔ) (literary, figurative)

 

Derived terms

• 紅粉青樓／红粉青楼

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (青樓):

• → Japanese: 青楼(せいろう) (seirō)
• → Korean: 청루(靑樓) (cheongnu)
• → Vietnamese: thanh lâu (青樓)

Others

• → Vietnamese: lầu xanh (楼撑, 樓撑) (calque)