Talk:佬

Maybe from Tai-Kadai? cf. Lao ລາວ (lāo, “Lao < people”), Thai ลาว (laao). Wyang (talk) 09:24, 12 September 2016 (UTC)

"vulgar person; hillbilly"

@Wyang I don't think this is different from the first sense. I don't really see how 佬 in 鄉巴佬 is that much different from that in 差佬 or 肥佬. — justin(r)leung _{{ (t...) | c=› }} 03:26, 5 June 2018 (UTC)

@Justinrleung Yeah you are right, it's the same sense. Wyang (talk) 03:32, 5 June 2018 (UTC)

gender of <country> + 佬

Discussion moved from User talk:Suzukaze-c.

Hi, it can also refer to person in general. RcAlex36 (talk) 17:52, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

@RcAlex36: Hm. For me there is a four way distinction as at fatty#Translations 2. —Suzukaze-c (talk) 17:54, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

When you say 班美國佬, you don't have just American men in mind. RcAlex36 (talk) 17:56, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

Also @Justinrleung. RcAlex36 (talk) 17:58, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

I'm not entirely sure. It definitely has a strong [+male] meaning for me when it's referring to one person. I'm not sure when it's referring to a group, though. 班美國佬 could work for Americans in general, but I still have a bit of a leaning towards interpreting it as a male group. — justin(r)leung _{{ (t...) | c=› }} 18:50, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

@Justinrleung 美國佬 itself can mean Americans in general though. For example, see [1]. RcAlex36 (talk) 18:53, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

Okay, sure, but what about other words, like 肥佬 (as Suzukaze pointed out) or 生意佬? — justin(r)leung _{{ (t...) | c=› }} 18:59, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

@Justinrleung: I think the difference is that we may sometimes view (國家)佬 as a collective but not for 肥佬. RcAlex36 (talk) 19:05, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

@Justinrleung: Right now, 英國佬／英国佬 (yīngguólǎo) and 德國佬／德国佬 (déguólǎo) don't specify they are male. How should we deal with those? RcAlex36 (talk) 03:43, 29 November 2020 (UTC)

@RcAlex36: I think for these, they are still referring to a male when it's "singular". It's only when it's collective that it would be more neutral. I'm not exactly sure what the best wording for the definitions should be. — justin(r)leung _{{ (t...) | c=› }} 04:15, 29 November 2020 (UTC)