喽

嘍

lóu, lou

口 + 娄

Definitions

lou (particle) (particle indicating completion of action)

lóu (noun) subordinate in gang

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 娄 represents the sound. Simplified form of 嘍.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 娄

About

喽 is a phono-semantic compound: the mouth radical 口 on the left classifies it among vocalizations, speech particles, and informal expressions, while the phonetic component 娄 (traditional 婁) on the right dictates the pronunciation. It is the simplified form of 嘍. In use, it often acts as an untranslatable sentence-final particle that softens a statement or calls attention to a newly developed situation. Additionally, it appears in specific multi-character nouns denoting low-ranking subordinates, petty followers, or gang underlings, a meaning that probably evolved from the noisy, clamorous nature of a crowd of underlings.

Etymology Hide

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我们走喽。

Wǒmen zǒu lou.

Let's go (indicating readiness or prompting action).

饭快凉喽，快吃吧。

Fàn kuài liáng lou, kuài chī ba.

The food is getting cold, eat up.

事情就这么定下来喽。

Shìqíng jiù zhème dìng xiàlái lou.

So it's settled then.

你看，天阴下来喽，要下雨了。

Nǐ kàn, tiān yīn xiàlái lou, yào xià yǔ le.

Look, the sky has darkened, it's going to rain.

这次的挑战性可是不小喽。

Zhè cì de tiǎozhàn xìng kěshì bù xiǎo lou.

The challenge this time is really not small, you know.

他当上领导，架子可就大喽。

Tā dāng shang lǐngdǎo, jiàzi kě jiù dà lou.

Now that he's become the boss, his airs have really grown.

等所有报告都批完，我也该退休喽。

Děng suǒyǒu bàogào dōu pī wán, wǒ yě gāi tuìxiū lou.

Once all the reports are approved, it'll be time for me to retire as well.

等这个项目的资金终于到位，一切才算尘埃落定喽。

Děng zhège xiàngmù de zījīn zhōngyú dàowèi, yīqiè cái suàn chén'āi luò dìng lou.

Only when the funding for this project is finally in place will everything be truly settled.

Related Characters

Component: 口

Component: 娄

喽