光棍

Chinese

	light; ray; bright	stick
trad. (光棍)	光	棍
simp. ^#(光棍)	光	棍
Literally: “bare stick”.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): guānggùn

(Zhuyin): ㄍㄨㄤㄍㄨㄣˋ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): guang¹ gun⁴

(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): гуонгун (guongun, I-I)
Cantonese (Jyutping): gwong¹ gwan³
Jin (Wiktionary): guon¹ gung³
Northern Min (KCR): guáng-go̿ng
Eastern Min (BUC): guŏng-góng
Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): gorng¹ gong⁴ / gorng¹ guong⁴
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): kong-kùn
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹kuaon-kuen

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: guānggùn
  - Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄤㄍㄨㄣˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: guanggùn
  - Wade–Giles: kuang¹-kun⁴
  - Yale: gwāng-gwùn
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: guangguenn
  - Palladius: гуангунь (guangunʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ku̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ ku̯ən⁵¹/
- (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed) (光棍兒 / 光棍儿)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: guānggùnr
  - Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄤㄍㄨㄣˋㄦ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: guanggùnr
  - Wade–Giles: kuang¹-kun⁴-ʼrh
  - Yale: gwāng-gwùnr
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: guangguell
  - Palladius: гуангуньр (guangunʹr)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ku̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ ku̯əɻ⁵¹/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: guang¹ gun⁴
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: guonggun
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuaŋ⁵⁵ kuən²¹³/
- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: гуонгун (guongun, I-I)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuɑŋ²⁴ kuŋ²⁴/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: gwong¹ gwan³
  - Yale: gwōng gwan
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gwong¹ gwan³
  - Guangdong Romanization: guong¹ guen³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʷɔːŋ⁵⁵ kʷɐn³³/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: guon¹ gung³
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /kuɒ̃¹¹ kuŋ⁴⁵/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: guáng-go̿ng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuaŋ⁵⁴ kɔŋ³³/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: guŏng-góng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuoŋ⁵⁵⁻⁵³ ^(k-)ŋouŋ²¹³/
Puxian Min
- (Putian)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: gorng¹ gong⁴ [Phonetic: gorng² ngong⁴]
  - Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: go̤ng-geo̍ng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɒŋ⁵³³⁻¹³ ^(k-)ŋɔŋ⁴²/
- (Xianyou)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: gorng¹ guong⁴ [Phonetic: gorng² nguong⁴]
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɒŋ⁵⁴⁴⁻²⁴ ^(k-)ŋuoŋ⁴²/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kong-kùn
  - Tâi-lô: kong-kùn
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kongkuxn
  - IPA (Xiamen): /kɔŋ⁴⁴⁻²² kun²¹/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /kɔŋ³³ kun⁴¹/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /kɔŋ⁴⁴⁻²² kun²¹/
  - IPA (Taipei): /kɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ kun¹¹/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /kɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ kun²¹/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ¹kuaon-kuen
  - MiniDict: kuaon^平 kuen
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹kuaan-kun
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /kuɑ̃⁵⁵ kuən²¹/

Noun

光棍

gangster; hoodlum; thug; ruffian
single man; bachelor
打光棍 ― dǎguānggùn ― to remain a bachelor
- 可又來，小牛又不曾有妻小，是個光棍哩，那里掙得有此等東西？ [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
  可又来，小牛又不曾有妻小，是个光棍哩，那里挣得有此等东西？ [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
  From: c. 1627, Ling Mengchu, 初刻拍案驚奇
  Kě yòu lái, Xiǎoniú yòu bùcéng yǒu qīxiǎo, shì ge guānggùn li, nǎlǐ zhèng de yǒu cǐděng dōngxi? [Pinyin]
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)
(dialectal Mandarin) hero; brave man; great man
(dialectal Mandarin) hardened gambler
(dialectal Mandarin, Southern Min) homeless man; person who has nothing
(Mandarin, Wu) smart person; astute person; smart cookie
(Cantonese, Leizhou Min, Hainanese, Eastern Min, Puxian Min, dated in Mandarin) conman; swindler; trickster
- 恐怕是外方的甚麼光棍，打著太尊的旗號，到處來騙人的錢。你不要上他的當！ [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
  恐怕是外方的什么光棍，打着太尊的旗号，到处来骗人的钱。你不要上他的当！ [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
  From: Wu Jingzi, The Scholars, 1750 CE
  Kǒngpà shì wàifāng de shénme guānggùn, dǎ zhe tàizūn de qíhào, dàochù lái piàn rén de qián. Nǐ bùyào shàng tā de dàng! [Pinyin]
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)
(Sichuanese) member of Gelaohui

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 單身漢 (“bachelor”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		單身漢
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	光棍兒, 光棍兒光, 鰥棍兒
	Taiwan	單身漢
	Harbin	光棍兒, 跑腿子, 光桿子
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	光棍兒, 光棍子
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	光棍兒, 光棍子, 光漢
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	光棍兒, 光棍兒漢兒
	Wanrong	光棍兒
	Xi'an	光棍兒, 光身漢
	Xining	光棍
	Xuzhou	光棍漢, 光棍兒漢, 單身漢
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	光棍
Lanyin Mandarin	Ürümqi	光棍兒
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	單身漢兒, 光棍, 光棍兒, 光身漢
	Wuhan	單身漢, 寡漢條, 光棍
	Guiyang	單身漢
	Liuzhou	寡佬, 寡公, 光棍, 單身寡佬
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	單身漢, 光棍
	Yangzhou	光棍條子
	Hefei	光棍, 光桿子, 寡漢, 寡漢條子
Cantonese	Guangzhou	寡佬, 單身寡佬, 寡仔, 單身寡仔
	Hong Kong	寡佬, 單身寡佬, 王老五
	Taishan	寡佬, 散仔
	Kaiping (Chikan)	寡佬, 散仔
	Dongguan	單身寡佬, 光棍佬
	Yangjiang	寡佬
Gan	Nanchang	單身
Gan	Pingxiang	單身人
Hakka	Meixian	單鳥哥, 單隻阿哥
	Yudu	光棍
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	單身哥仔, 單身哥
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	單身哥仔
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	單身哥仔
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	單身哥
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	單身哥仔
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	羅漢腳
Jin	Taiyuan	光棍, 光棍漢, 光棍兒漢
Jin	Xinzhou	光棍
Northern Min	Jian'ou	單身漢, 光棍
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	單身哥
Southern Min	Xiamen	單身漢, 十一叔, 十一哥
	Quanzhou	十一叔
	Zhangzhou	十一叔
	Taipei	十一哥, 羅漢跤仔
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	孤𣮈的, 羅漢跤
	Kaohsiung	十一哥, 羅漢跤仔, 獨身仔
	Yilan	羅漢跤仔, 獨身仔
	Changhua (Lukang)	十一哥, 羅漢跤仔
	Taichung	十一哥, 羅漢跤仔
	Tainan	十一哥, 羅漢跤仔, 獨身仔
	Hsinchu	羅漢跤
	Kinmen	十一哥, 十一叔, 孤身
	Penghu (Magong)	十一哥, 羅漢跤
	Chaozhou	單身囝
	Shantou	單身漢
	Jieyang	單身囝
	Leizhou	單身漢
	Haikou	光棍
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	單身漢, 光棍 derogatory, 光棍兒 derogatory
Wu	Shanghai	單身漢, 光棍, 獨腳伙
	Suzhou	單身漢
	Danyang	單身漢, 光棍條子, 光棍
	Hangzhou	光棍頭
	Ningbo	光棍, 光棍老倌
	Wenzhou	單獨自人, 獨自人
	Jinhua	光棍, 禿鐵兒, 光棍禿鐵兒 derogatory
	Jinhua (Tangxi)	光棍邋遢兒 derogatory
Xiang	Changsha	單身漢, 單身漢子, 光褲帶
	Loudi	光棍
	Shuangfeng	單身家, 單身公
	Hengyang	單身公

Dialectal synonyms of 騙子 (“cheat; trickster”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		騙子, 騙徒
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	騙子, 騙子手
	Taiwan	騙子
	Chengde	騙子, 騙子手
	Chifeng	騙子
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	騙子
	Heihe	騙子, 騙子手
	Qiqihar	騙子, 拐子
	Harbin	騙子, 騙子手
	Jiamusi	騙子, 騙子手
	Baicheng	騙子, 騙子手
	Changchun	騙子手
	Tonghua	騙子手
	Shenyang	騙子, 騙子手
	Jinzhou	騙子, 騙子手
	Singapore	騙子
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	騙子
	Tangshan	騙子, 騙子手
	Cangzhou	騙子
	Baoding	騙子, 騙子手
	Shijiazhuang	騙子
	Lijin	騙子, 騙子手
	Jinan	騙子, 騙子手
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Dalian	騙子
	Dandong	騙子, 騙子手
	Yantai	騙子, 騙子手
	Yantai (Muping)	騙子手
	Qingdao	騙子
	Zhucheng	騙子, 騙子手
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	騙子
	Lingbao	騙子, 騙子手
	Jining	騙子
	Wanrong	騙子手
	Linfen	騙子手
	Shangqiu	騙子, 騙子手, 撇子手
	Yuanyang	騙子手, 撇子
	Zhengzhou	騙子
	Xinyang	騙子
	Baihe	騙子, 騙子手
	Xi'an	騙子, 騙子手
	Baoji	騙子, 騙子手
	Tianshui	騙子
	Xining	騙子, 騙騙 derogatory
	Xuzhou	騙子, 撇子
	Fuyang	騙子
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	騙子, 騙子手
	Lanzhou	騙子手, 撇家拐子
	Dunhuang	騙子
	Hami	騙子
	Ürümqi	騙子, 騙子手, 拐子, 撇家拐子
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	騙子, 編編匠
	Nanchong	騙子
	Dazhou	騙子, 騙子手
	Hanyuan	騙子, 拐子
	Xichang	騙子
	Zigong	騙子
	Chongqing	騙子
	Wuhan	騙子
	Yichang	騙子
	Xiangyang	騙子, 標子
	Tianmen	騙子, 騙子手, 白撮子
	Guiyang	騙子, 騙子手, 拐子手
	Zunyi	騙子
	Bijie	騙子, 騙子手
	Liping	騙子
	Zhaotong	騙子
	Dali	騙子手
	Kunming	騙子
	Mengzi	騙子
	Guilin	騙子
	Liuzhou	騙子, 拐子, 拐子佬
	Jishou	騙子
	Changde	騙子手
	Hanzhong	騙子, 騙子手
	Dagudi (Maliba)	騙子
	Reshuitang (Longling)	大騙子
	Mae Salong (Lancang)	騙子
	Mae Sai (Tengchong)	騙子
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	騙子
	Yangzhou	騙子, 拐子
	Lianyungang	騙子
	Lianshui	騙子
	Nantong	騙子
	Anqing	騙子
	Wuhu	騙子
	Hefei	騙子
	Hong'an	騙子, 白撮子
Cantonese	Guangzhou	光棍, 撞棍, 老千, 千友, 滾友
	Hong Kong	老千, 撞棍, 拆白黨 dated
	Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou)	拐子佬
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	呃人個
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	傻人個
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	呃人
	Kaiping (Chikan)	老千
	Dongguan	撞棍, 光棍佬, 滾友, 老千
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	騙子
	Hepu (Shatian)	騙仔
	Beihai	騙子
	Beihai (Nankang)	呃人嘅
	Beihai (Yingpan)	騙子
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	騙子
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	騙子
	Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	騙子
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	老千
	Sarikei (Xinhui)	老千
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	老千
	Móng Cái	欺騙人
Gan	Nanchang	騙子
Gan	Lichuan	騙子
Hakka	Meixian	騙仔, 撮仔賊
	Dabu (Xihe)	騙子
	Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua)	呃人精, 老千
	Huizhou (Shuikou; Bendihua)	呃人咧
	Huizhou (Hengli; Bendihua)	呃人唉
	Huidong (Pingshan; Bendihua)	撮仔
	Boluo (Bendihua)	騙仔
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	撮咧
	Longchuan (Tuocheng; Bendihua)	騙依
	Longchuan (Sidu; Bendihua)	騙哎
	Yudu	騙子
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	騙仔, 落仔
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	騙個
	Pingtung (Wuluo, Ligang; S. Sixian)	諞仙仔
	Kaohsiung (Meinong; S. Sixian)	虎𡳞王
	Kaohsiung (Shanlin; S. Sixian)	騙子
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	落仔
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	落人個
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	落仔
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	落子
	Hong Kong	撮仔
	Kuala Lumpur (Dabu)	騙子
	Senai (Huiyang)	老千
Huizhou	Jixi	騙子, 騙鬼
Huizhou	Shexian	騙子
Jin	Taiyuan	騙子, 騙子手
	Yangyuan	騙子, 撇子
	Datong	騙子手
	Xinzhou	騙子, 騙子手
	Lüliang (Lishi)	騙子, 騙子手
	Changzhi	騙子
	Linhe	騙子, 騙子手
	Jining	騙子手
	Hohhot	騙子, 騙子手
	Erenhot	騙子, 騙子手
	Pingshan	騙子, 騙子手
	Zhangjiakou	騙子, 騙子手
	Handan	騙子, 騙子手
	Linzhou	騙了
	Suide	騙子, 騙子手
Northern Min	Jian'ou	騙仔
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	光棍
Southern Min	Xiamen	佬仔, 甪仔, 大佬, 白賊七, 白賊七仔
	Quanzhou	佬仔, 甪仔, 白賊七
	Jinjiang	甪仔
	Zhangzhou	佬仔, 甪仔, 白賊七, 白賊七仔
	Taipei	諞仙仔
	New Taipei (Tamsui)	諞仙仔
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	術仔, 諞仙仔
	New Taipei (Pingxi)	術仔, 諞仙仔
	Kaohsiung	諞仙仔
	Kaohsiung (Cijin)	諞仙仔
	Kaohsiung (Hongmaogang, Siaogang)	諞仙仔
	Kaohsiung (Dalinpu, Siaogang)	諞仙仔
	Kaohsiung (Tianliao)	諞仙仔
	Yilan	佬仔, 諞仙仔
	Yilan (Toucheng)	諞仙仔
	Changhua (Lukang)	諞仙
	Taichung	諞仙仔
	Tainan	諞仙仔
	Tainan (Anping)	諞仙仔
	Hsinchu	諞仙仔
	Penghu (Magong)	諞仙, 騙子
	Penghu (Xiyu)	諞仙
	Shantou	騙囝
	Jieyang	佬囝, 騙囝
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	騙儂個
	Leizhou	光棍
	Haikou	光棍
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	騙子, 拐子佬
Wu	Shanghai	騙子
	Shanghai (Chongming)	拐子
	Suzhou	騙子
	Danyang	騙子, 騙鬼郎中
	Hangzhou	騙子
	Ningbo	騙子, 拐子, 騙賊拐子
	Wenzhou	拐兒
	Jinhua	騙子, 拐子兒
Xiang	Changsha	辵巴子
	Loudi	騙子手, 拐子
	Hengyang	騙子手

Adjective

光棍

(dialectal Mandarin) astute; quick; shrewd
(dialectal Mandarin) staunch; upright
(dialectal Mandarin) pretentious; ostentatious; flaunty
(dialectal Mandarin) narrow-minded; disagreeable; violent-tempered

Derived terms

不光棍
充光棍
光棍不吃眼前虧 / 光棍不吃眼前亏
光棍佬教仔，便宜莫貪 / 光棍佬教仔，便宜莫贪
光棍節 / 光棍节 (guānggùnjié)
光棍遇著冇皮柴
女光棍
打光棍 (dǎ guānggùn)
泥腿光棍
油頭光棍 / 油头光棍
游嘴光棍
老光棍
財到光棍手，一去冇回頭 / 财到光棍手，一去冇回头
闖光棍 / 闯光棍
飛天光棍 / 飞天光棍

References

李如龙 [Li, Ru-long], 刘福铸 [Liu, Fu-zhu], 吴华英 [Wu, Hua-ying], 黄国城 [Huang, Guo-cheng] (2019) 莆仙方言调查报告 [Investigation Report on Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 67.