Desmond Posted November 22, 2005 at 09:55 PM Report Posted November 22, 2005 at 09:55 PM Hey guys, I've heard the term guailo here and there. Upon searching on the net, I heard it means "ghost person". Then by using plecodict, I've made up a guess as to what the characters might be. Would 鬼佬 be right? (Funny thing, after all that searching, I came up with 鬼老, and then my IME showed the previous one when entering in the pinyin. I guess my dictionary says that 佬 is man/person in Cantonese) Quote
Yuchi Posted November 22, 2005 at 10:36 PM Report Posted November 22, 2005 at 10:36 PM Yes, hopefully you already know what it means Quote
Desmond Posted November 22, 2005 at 10:43 PM Author Report Posted November 22, 2005 at 10:43 PM Yup! I assume it only has negative connotations, unlike Mandarin's 老外 which I've heard kinda has both... Quote
Ncao Posted November 22, 2005 at 11:09 PM Report Posted November 22, 2005 at 11:09 PM I think this term derived from Mandarin 洋鬼子. Quote
Ncao Posted November 22, 2005 at 11:17 PM Report Posted November 22, 2005 at 11:17 PM sorry double posted. Quote
LiYuanXi Posted November 23, 2005 at 02:41 AM Report Posted November 23, 2005 at 02:41 AM Speaking of 鬼老, I have got a french friend and there was once he told me,"I don't like this place. It's full of 鬼老." Haha.. it is the first time i heard of a 鬼老 hate to see another 鬼老. Quote
xiaomawang Posted November 23, 2005 at 03:23 AM Report Posted November 23, 2005 at 03:23 AM 鬼佬 not necessary has negative connotation, though 洋鬼子 could be. Now some parents call their kids as ‘我那兩個小鬼’simply translate as 'My two little ghosts'. 鬼佬 is just a common understanding of a foreigner. Personal feeling, 鬼仔 and 鬼妹仔 in Cantonese even make ‘老外’or ‘外國女人’cute. Quote
in_lab Posted November 23, 2005 at 08:50 AM Report Posted November 23, 2005 at 08:50 AM In TV subtitles, they almost always translate "kids" as 小鬼. I think it's usually not appropriate because "kids" usually means exactly the same thing as "children." I'm not exactly sure what the connotations of 小鬼 are, but it sounds either jokey or deprecatory to me. Quote
889 Posted November 23, 2005 at 11:45 AM Report Posted November 23, 2005 at 11:45 AM I'd say xiao gui 小鬼 is pretty close to "little imps" in English. Quote
ala Posted November 23, 2005 at 04:10 PM Report Posted November 23, 2005 at 04:10 PM 小鬼 is pretty commonly used, it's more equivalent to "punks", "little punks" ("why you little punk!") in English. Mildly derogative. (For those in Shanghai and have never seemed to hear any "gui" or "guei" sound, 鬼 in the Shanghai dialect is pronounced like Pinyin "ju". 小鬼 sounds like "xioju", 出鬼 is like "ceju"; but 洋鬼子, 鬼佬 are not used in Shanghai dialect.) Quote
gato Posted November 24, 2005 at 12:25 AM Report Posted November 24, 2005 at 12:25 AM Maybe you can translate 小鬼 as "little rascal." Notice that "rascal" has two definitions. In this case, what is meant is "a mischievous person or animal." rascal Pronunciation: 'ras-k&l Etymology: Middle English rascaile rabble, one of the rabble 1 : a mean, unprincipled, or dishonest person 2 : a mischievous person or animal Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.