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U+4F6C, 佬
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4F6C

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

Translingual

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Han character

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

References

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  • 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

Chinese

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trad.
simp. #

Glyph origin

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

Etymology 1

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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

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Note:
  • lou2 - usual pronunciation;
  • lou5, liu4 - only used in 仡佬.

Definitions

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  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)
  2. (Cantonese, in compounds) brother
    [Cantonese]  ―  daai6 lou2, ji6 lou2 [Jyutping]  ―  most eldest brother, second eldest brother
    [Cantonese]  ―  sai3 lou2 [Jyutping]  ―  younger brother
Usage notes
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  • 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
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Compounds

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Etymology 2

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Pronunciation

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Definitions

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  1. Only used in 侾佬 (“large”).

Etymology 3

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Pronunciation

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Definitions

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  1. (Southern Min) to cheat; to swindle

Compounds

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References

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Japanese

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Kanji

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(Hyōgai kanji)

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

Readings

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  • 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)

Vietnamese

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Han character

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: 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

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