阿三
Chinese
phonetic; (final part.); (interj.) phonetic; (final part.); (interj.); flatter; an initial particle; prefix to names of people |
three | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| simp. and trad. (阿三) |
阿 | 三 | |
Etymology
Unknown. Possibilities include:
- From 阿Sir (most likely pronounced saar by the Sikh police officers), a respectful term of address for policemen;
- From English I see, an affirmative answer often used by policemen when replying to commanding officers;
- From Assam, a state in northeastern India.
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: āsān
- Zhuyin: ㄚ ㄙㄢ
- Tongyong Pinyin: asan
- Wade–Giles: a1-san1
- Yale: ā-sān
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: asan
- Palladius: асань (asanʹ)
- Sinological IPA (key): /ˀä⁵⁵ sän⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Wu
Noun
阿三 (originally Shanghainese)
- (historical, slang, derogatory) Sikh policeman in the Shanghai International Settlement
- (ethnic slur, slang, pejorative depending on context, by extension) Indian person, a saar
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 印度人 (“Indian person”) [map]