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佬

Mandarin · pinyin lǎo

male
man (Cantonese)

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佬: lǎo · (Cant.) man, person; mature

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3 · lao3

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1character link15same-tone records

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 3 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

liu4 · lou2 · lou5

Cantonese word readings for 佬. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

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

character · Etymology 2

only used in 侾佬 (“large”)

character · Etymology 3

(Southern Min) to cheat; to swindle

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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