阿三
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Chinese
phonetic; (final part.); (interj.) phonetic; (final part.); (interj.); flatter; an initial particle; prefix to names of people |
three | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| simp. and trad. (阿三) |
阿 | 三 | |
Etymology
Unknown. Possibilities include:
- From 阿Sir, a respectful term of address for policemen;
- From English I see, an affirmative answer often used by policemen when replying to commanding officers;
- From Assam, a state in northeastern India.
Pronunciation
Noun
阿三 (originally Shanghainese)
- (historical, slang, derogatory) Sikh policeman in the Shanghai International Settlement
- (ethnic slur, slang, pejorative depending on context, by extension) Indian person
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 印度人 (“Indian person”)
| Variety | Location | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 印度人 | |
| Mandarin | Taiwan | 印度人 |
| Singapore | 印度人 | |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | 阿差 †, 摩囉差 † |
| Hong Kong | 印度人, 印度佬, 阿差 †, 摩囉差 †, 阿星 † | |
| Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu) | 吉靈人 † | |
| Ipoh (Guangfu) | 印度人 | |
| Singapore (Guangfu) | 印度人, 吉靈人 † | |
| Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu) | 印度人 | |
| Hakka | Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 印度人 |
| Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) | 印度人 | |
| Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) | 印度人 | |
| Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) | 印度人 | |
| Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) | 印度人 | |
| Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) | 印度人 | |
| Hong Kong | 摩囉差 † | |
| Senai (Huiyang) | 吉靈人 † | |
| Southern Min | Kaohsiung | 印度番仔 † |
| Yilan | 烏番仔 † | |
| Changhua (Lukang) | 印度仔 | |
| Taichung | 烏印度仔 † | |
| Taichung (Wuqi) | 烏肚番仔 † | |
| Tainan | 烏肚番仔 † | |
| Taitung | 印度仔 | |
| Hsinchu | 烏儂 † | |
| Penghu (Magong) | 印度儂 | |
| Penang (Hokkien) | 吉靈仔 † | |
| Singapore (Hokkien) | 印度儂, 吉靈仔 †, 吉靈囝 †, ah neh †, ah pu neh neh † | |
| Manila (Hokkien) | 印度仔, 印度儂 | |
| Johor Bahru (Teochew) | 吉靈囝 † | |
| Singapore (Teochew) | 印度儂, ah neh †, apooneh †, 吉靈囝 † | |
| Singapore (Hainanese) | 吉靈囝 † | |
| Wu | Shanghai | 印度人, 阿三 †, 紅頭阿三 † |
| Note | † - derogatory/disrespectful/ethnic slur | |