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U+4F6C, 佬
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4F6C

[U+4F6B]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+4F6D]

Translingual[edit]

Han character[edit]

(Kangxi radical 9, +6, 8 strokes, cangjie input 人十大心 (OJKP), four-corner 24211, composition )

References[edit]

  • KangXi: page 100, character 9
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 548
  • Dae Jaweon: page 212, character 5
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 144, character 2
  • Unihan data for U+4F6C

Chinese[edit]

trad.
simp. #

Glyph origin[edit]

Phono-semantic compound (形聲): semantic (man; person) + phonetic (OC *ruːʔ).

Etymology 1[edit]

Found in certain southern dialects (chiefly Cantonese) as the colloquial word for “man” (for example, in the term 肥佬). Probably related to Zhuang raeuz ~ laeuz (we; also a demonym: Rau peoples), a widespread Tai word meaning “we; people” (Proto-Tai *rawᴬ).

First attested in 1678 in the following passage from Guangdong Xinyu:

廣州平人賤稱 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
广州平人贱称 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
Guǎngzhōu wèi píngrén yuē lǎo, yì yuē liáo, jiànchēng yě. [Pinyin]
People in Guangzhou call “common people” lau or leu (derogatory).

Also compare Proto-Hmong *ʔljuwᴮ (male) (White Hmong lau (male)), Proto-Katuic *-law (man), as well as Lao ລາວ (lāo, Lao < people), Thai ลาว (laao).

Pronunciation[edit]


Note:
  • lou2 - usual pronunciation;
  • lou5, liu4 - only used in 仡佬.
  • Hakka
  • Min Nan
  • Wu
  • Definitions[edit]

    1. (chiefly Cantonese, dialectal Wu, often slightly derogatory) (adult) man; guy; fellow; chap (Classifier: c)
      [Cantonese]  ―  caai1 lou2 [Jyutping]  ―  cop; policeman
      鄉巴乡巴  ―  xiāngbalǎo  ―  hick; villager
      天上九頭鳥地上湖北 [MSC, trad.]
      天上九头鸟地上湖北 [MSC, simp.]
      tiānshàng jiǔtóuniǎo, dìshàng Húběi lǎo [Pinyin]
      Heaven above [has] nine-headed birds, [but] Earth below [has] Hubei folk (meaning Hubei people are clever/crafty)
    Usage notes[edit]
    • In Cantonese, when it is used as a standalone word, it usually refers to a middle-aged man.
    • Mainly used as a colloquial suffix to denote “-er”.
    Synonyms[edit]

    Compounds[edit]

    Etymology 2[edit]

    Pronunciation[edit]


    Definitions[edit]

    1. Only used in 侾佬 (“large”).

    Etymology 3[edit]

    Pronunciation[edit]


    Definitions[edit]

    1. (Min Nan) to cheat; to swindle

    Compounds[edit]

    References[edit]

    Japanese[edit]

    Kanji[edit]

    (uncommon “Hyōgai” kanji)

    1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

    Readings[edit]

    Vietnamese[edit]

    Han character[edit]

    : Hán Nôm readings: lão

    1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

    References[edit]