鱉佬仔

Chinese

	turtle	cheater; fraudster; swindler cheater; fraudster; swindler; cheat; pickpocket
trad. (鱉佬仔)	鱉	佬仔
simp. (鳖佬仔)	鳖	佬仔
alternative forms	憋佬仔

Etymology

Hakka expression for "son of a turtle", analogous to 王八蛋 (wángbadàn) used in Northern Mandarin. In the "bumpkin" sense, it is a near-homophone of 北佬仔, an early term used to derogatorily describe someone from out-of-province. In more modern times, the term is used among Hakka speakers in a more self-depreciating, joking or affectionate manner to refer to an intimate friend.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): biēlǎozǎi

(Zhuyin): ㄅㄧㄝㄌㄠˇ ㄗㄞˇ
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): piet-ló-é

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: biēlǎozǎi [Phonetic: biēláozǎi]
  - Zhuyin: ㄅㄧㄝㄌㄠˇ ㄗㄞˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: bielǎozǎi
  - Wade–Giles: pieh¹-lao³-tsai³
  - Yale: byē-lǎu-dzǎi
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bielaotzae
  - Palladius: белаоцзай (belaoczaj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pi̯ɛ⁵⁵ lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ t͡saɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: piet-ló-é
  - Hakka Romanization System: bied^ˋ lo^ˋ e^ˋ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: biad⁵ lo³ e³
  - Sinological IPA (Northern, incl. Miaoli): /pi̯et̚² lo³¹ e³¹⁻¹¹/
  - Sinological IPA (Southern, incl. Neipu): /pi̯et̚² lo³¹ e³¹/

Noun

鱉佬仔

(derogatory, vulgar, offensive) son-of-a-bitch; bastard
(derogatory, vulgar, offensive) bumpkin, hillbilly
- 2024, “八方來財 [Stacks from All Sides]”, in 八方來財 [Stacks from All Sides], performed by 攬佬 [SKAI ISYOURGOD]:
  
  我們這的鱉佬仔脖子上喜歡掛玉牌 [MSC, trad.]
  我们这的鳖佬仔脖子上喜欢挂玉牌 [MSC, simp.]
  wǒmen zhè de biēlǎozǎi bózi shàng xǐhuān guà yù pái [Pinyin]
  We, the bumpkins from around here, like to wear jade pendants around our necks
(Hakka, colloquial) brother, homie

Related terms

鱉囝／鳖囝
撈佬／捞佬