老虎蟹

Chinese

		tiger; tractor	crab
trad. (老虎蟹)		老虎	蟹
simp. #(老虎蟹)		老虎	蟹

Etymology

“no matter how”

Two theories exist.

• From figurative sense, describing people as fierce as tigers and crabs.
• Corrupted from the vulgar phrase 老閪 / 老𲈹 (lou⁵ hai¹, literally “old cunt”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): lǎohǔxiè

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄠˇ ㄏㄨˇ ㄒㄧㄝˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): lou⁵ fu² haai⁵

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: lǎohǔxiè [Phonetic: láohǔxiè]
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄠˇ ㄏㄨˇ ㄒㄧㄝˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: lǎohǔsiè
    • Wade–Giles: lao³-hu³-hsieh⁴
    • Yale: lǎu-hǔ-syè
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: laohuushieh
    • Palladius: лаохусе (laoxuse)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ xu²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯ɛ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: lou⁵ fu² haai⁵
    • Yale: lóuh fú háaih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: lou⁵ fu² haai⁵
    • Guangdong Romanization: lou⁵ fu² hai⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lou̯¹³ fuː³⁵ haːi̯¹³/

Noun

老虎蟹

1. spanner crab (Ranina ranina)

Synonyms

• 旭蟹, (Hokkien) 倒退攄／倒退摅

Adverb

老虎蟹

1. (Cantonese) no matter how

   老虎蟹都制 [Cantonese]  ―  lou⁵ fu² haai⁵ dou¹ zai³ [Jyutping]  ―  must agree; must accept