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

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

spanner crab (Ranina ranina)

Synonyms

旭蟹
(Cantonese) 加菲蟹
(Hokkien) 倒退攄／倒退摅

Adverb

老虎蟹

(Cantonese) no matter how (used with the particle 都)
老虎蟹都制 [Cantonese] ― lou⁵ fu² haai⁵ dou¹ zai³ [Jyutping] ― must agree; must accept