垃圾
Chinese
| phonetic | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (垃圾) | 垃 | 圾 | |
| simp. #(垃圾) | 垃 | 圾 | |
| alternative forms | |||
Etymology
From earlier 擸𢶍 (làsà, “to jumble; jumble; litter”). Reduplication derived from a root (*lap or *sap) meaning "untidy, unclean". The pronunciation "lèsè" is possibly influenced by Wu.
Second syllable of the Mainland Mandarin reading lājī is irregular, resulting from the incorrect association of the rare character in its obsolete form 靸 (sǎ) with the usual pronunciation of its phonetic component (及 (jí)).
Cognate with 邋遢 (lāta, “unclean, untidy, unkempt”) (> 邋邋遢遢, 邋裡邋遢／邋里邋遢).
Pronunciation 1
- Mandarin
- Cantonese
- Hakka
- Northern Min (KCR): lū-sŭ
- Southern Min
- Southern Pinghua (Nanning, Jyutping++): laap5 slaap3
- Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): 6la-shi; 8leq-seq
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, Mainland)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: lājī
- Zhuyin: ㄌㄚ ㄐㄧ
- Tongyong Pinyin: laji
- Wade–Giles: la1-chi1
- Yale: lā-jī
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: lhaji
- Palladius: лацзи (laczi)
- Sinological IPA (key): /lä⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, Taiwan)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: lèsè
- Zhuyin: ㄌㄜˋ ㄙㄜˋ
- Tongyong Pinyin: lèsè
- Wade–Giles: lê4-sê4
- Yale: lè-sè
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: lehseh
- Palladius: лэсэ (lɛsɛ)
- Sinological IPA (key): /lɤ⁵¹⁻⁵³ sɤ⁵¹/
- (Standard Chinese, Mainland)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: laap6 saap3
- Yale: laahp saap
- Cantonese Pinyin: laap9 saap8
- Guangdong Romanization: lab6 sab3
- Sinological IPA (key): /laːp̚² saːp̚³/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
- Wiktionary: lep5 lhep2
- Sinological IPA (key): /lep̚³² ɬep̚⁵⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
- Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: lep-sep / let-set
- Hakka Romanization System: lebˋ sebˋ / ledˋ sedˋ
- Hagfa Pinyim: leb5 seb5 / led5 sed5
- Sinological IPA: /lep̚² sep̚²/, /let̚² set̚²/
- (Meixian)
- Guangdong: lab5 sêb5
- Sinological IPA: /lap̚¹ sɛp̚¹/
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
- Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
- Kienning Colloquial Romanized: lū-sŭ
- Sinological IPA (key): /lu⁵⁵ su²⁴/
- (Jian'ou)
- Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Kinmen, Singapore)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lap-sap
- Tâi-lô: lap-sap
- Phofsit Daibuun: lapsab
- IPA (Zhangzhou): /lap̚³²⁻⁵ sap̚³²/
- IPA (Xiamen, Singapore): /lap̚³²⁻⁴ sap̚³²/
- IPA (Quanzhou): /lap̚⁵⁻²⁴ sap̚⁵/
- IPA (Kinmen): /lap̚³²⁻⁵⁴ sap̚³²/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Singapore)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lah-sap
- Tâi-lô: lah-sap
- Phofsit Daibuun: lahsab
- IPA (Singapore): /la(ʔ)³²⁻⁴² sap̚³²/
- IPA (Zhangzhou): /la(ʔ)³²⁻⁵³ sap̚³²/
- (Teochew)
- Peng'im: nah4 sab4 / lah4 sab4 / la1 kib4
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: nah sap / lah sap / la khip
- Sinological IPA (key): /naʔ²⁻⁴ sap̚²/, /laʔ²⁻⁴ sap̚²/, /la³³⁻²³ kʰip̚²/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Kinmen, Singapore)
Note: lah4 sab4 - Shantou.
- Southern Pinghua
- (Nanning Pinghua, Tingzi)
- Jyutping++: laap5 slaap3
- Sinological IPA (key): /lap̚²⁴ ɬap̚⁵⁵/
- (Nanning Pinghua, Tingzi)
- Wu
Note:
- 3la xi - modern, influenced by Mandarin;
- 5leq seq - near-obsolete.
Noun
垃圾
- (literally) garbage; rubbish; trash; waste; refuse; junk
- (figuratively) rubbish (a valueless thing)
- 1996, Lee Lai Shan, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
- 1994, Lee Lik-chi, Love on Delivery, spoken by 斷水流大師兄 (林國斌 (Ben Lam Kwok-bun)):
- (computing, Internet, prefix) junk messages; spam; unsolicited messages
Synonyms
- (garbage):
Dialectal synonyms of 垃圾 (“rubbish; garbage”) [map]
Derived terms
- 倒垃圾 (dào lājī)
- 垃圾佬
- 垃圾分類 / 垃圾分类 (lājī fēnlèi)
- 垃圾回收 (lājī huíshōu)
- 垃圾堆 (lājīduī)
- 垃圾場 / 垃圾场 (lājīchǎng)
- 垃圾子母車 / 垃圾子母车
- 垃圾山
- 垃圾崗 / 垃圾岗
- 垃圾工 (lājīgōng)
- 垃圾帶 / 垃圾带 (lājīdài)
- 垃圾房 (lājīfáng)
- 垃圾會 / 垃圾会
- 垃圾桶 (lājītǒng)
- 垃圾焚化爐 / 垃圾焚化炉
- 垃圾相
- 垃圾短信 (lājī duǎnxìn)
- 垃圾站
- 垃圾筒 (lājītǒng)
- 垃圾箱 (lājīxiāng)
- 垃圾篸 / 垃圾𥮾
- 垃圾股 (lājīgǔ)
- 垃圾蟲 / 垃圾虫 (lājīchóng)
- 垃圾袋 (lājīdài)
- 垃圾車 / 垃圾车 (lājīchē)
- 垃圾進，垃圾出 / 垃圾进，垃圾出 (lājī jìn, lājī chū)
- 垃圾郵件 / 垃圾邮件 (lājī yóujiàn)
- 垃圾量
- 垃圾鏟 / 垃圾铲 (lājīchǎn)
- 垃圾食品 (lājī shípǐn)
- 垃圾食物 (lājī shíwù)
- 太空垃圾 (tàikōng lājī)
- 廚餘垃圾 / 厨余垃圾
- 洋垃圾 (yánglājī)
- 生活垃圾
- 白色垃圾 (báisè lājī)
- 精神垃圾
- 電子垃圾 / 电子垃圾 (diànzǐ lājī)
- 餐廚垃圾 / 餐厨垃圾
Adjective
垃圾
Synonyms
- 不善 (bùshàn)
- 不好
- 不妙 (bùmiào)
- 不怎麼樣 / 不怎么样 (bùzěnmeyàng)
- 不濟 / 不济 (bùjì)
- 不腆 (bùtiǎn) (Classical Chinese, self-deprecatory)
- 了丁 (Min Nan)
- 低下 (dīxià)
- 低劣 (dīliè)
- 低路 (Min Nan)
- 劣 (literary, or in compounds)
- 屎 (Cantonese)
- 差 (chà)
- 差勁 / 差劲 (chàjìn) (colloquial)
- 差氣 / 差气 (Hokkien)
- 拙劣 (zhuōliè)
- 推扳 (Shanghainese)
- 梢跤 (Zhangzhou Hokkien)
- 梢跤軟蹄 / 梢跤软蹄 (Zhangzhou Hokkien)
- 梢蹬 (Zhangzhou Hokkien)
- 欠佳 (qiànjiā)
- 水皮 (seoi2 pei4) (Cantonese)
- 潮 (cháo) (colloquial, of quality or technique)
- 無良 / 无良 (wúliáng) (formal)
- 破 (pò) (colloquial)
- 跤梢 (Xiamen Hokkien)
- 蹩腳 / 蹩脚 (biéjiǎo)
- 鄙劣 (bǐliè) (literary)
Pronunciation 2
- Hakka (Sixian, PFS): lá-sap
- Southern Min
- Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
- Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: lá-sap
- Hakka Romanization System: laˋ sabˋ
- Hagfa Pinyim: la3 sab5
- Sinological IPA: /la³¹ sap̚²/
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
- Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Hsinchu, Taichung, Lukang, Kinmen, Singapore)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lap-sap
- Tâi-lô: lap-sap
- Phofsit Daibuun: lapsab
- IPA (Lukang): /lap̚⁵ sap̚⁵/
- IPA (Xiamen, Singapore): /lap̚³²⁻⁴ sap̚³²/
- IPA (Quanzhou): /lap̚⁵⁻²⁴ sap̚⁵/
- IPA (Kinmen): /lap̚³²⁻⁵⁴ sap̚³²/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Yilan, Lukang, Sanxia, Magong, Singapore)
- (Teochew)
- Peng'im: nah4 sab4
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: nah sap
- Sinological IPA (key): /naʔ²⁻⁴ sap̚²/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Hsinchu, Taichung, Lukang, Kinmen, Singapore)
Adjective
垃圾
- (Hakka, Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Taiwanese Hokkien, Teochew) dirty; unhygienic
- (Mainland China Hokkien) low and cheap; substandard and vile
- (Hakka) haunted
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 髒 (“dirty”) [map]
Derived terms
Further reading
- “垃圾”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2025.