佬

Translingual

Han character

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

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: 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

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Chinese

trad.		佬
simp. #		佬

Glyph origin

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声) : semantic 亻 (“man; person”) + phonetic 老 (OC *ruːʔ).

Etymology 1

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).

Guangdong Xinyu [1678] has the following passage:

廣州謂平人曰佬，亦曰獠，賤稱也。 [MSC, trad.]

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广州谓平人曰佬，亦曰獠，贱称也。 [MSC, 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).

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 佬

1. (chiefly Cantonese, dialectal Wu, often slightly derogatory) (adult) man; guy; fellow; chap (Classifier: 個／个 c)

   差佬 [Cantonese]  ―  caai¹ lou² [Jyutping]  ―  cop; policeman

   鄉巴佬／乡巴佬  ―  xiāngbalǎo  ―  hick; villager

   天上九頭鳥，地上湖北佬 [MSC, trad.]
   天上九头鸟，地上湖北佬 [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)

   • 從前有個王子佢懵懵下，有一日，佢變咗個佬。 [Cantonese, trad.]
     从前有个王子佢懵懵下，有一日，佢变咗个佬。 [Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 2004, (deprecated template usage) 《麥兜菠蘿油王子》 (McDull, Prince de la Bun)

     cung⁴ cin⁴ jau⁵ go³ wong⁴ zi² keoi⁵ mung² mung² haa⁵, jau⁵ jat¹ jat⁶, keoi⁵ bin³ zo² go³ lou². [Jyutping]

     Once upon a time, there was a prince who was a fool. One day, he became a middle-aged guy.

Usage notes

• 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”.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): liáo (liao²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄧㄠˊ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: liáo
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄧㄠˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: liáo
    • Wade–Giles: liao²
    • Yale: lyáu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: liau
    • Palladius: ляо (ljao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /li̯ɑʊ̯³⁵/

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 佬

1. Only used in 侾佬.

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Japanese

Kanji

佬

(Hyōgai kanji)

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

Readings

• Go-on: りょう (ryō)^{←れう (reu, historical)}
• Kan-on: りょう (ryō)^{←れう (reu, historical)}
• Kun: おおきい (ōkii)

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Vietnamese

Han character

佬: 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

• Nom Foundation