狼狽

See also: 狼狈

Chinese

		wolf	a legendary wolf; distressed; wretched
trad. (狼狽)		狼	狽
simp. (狼狈)		狼	狈
alternative forms		狼貝／狼贝 狼䟺／狼𬦥 狼跋 䠭䟺／䠭𬦥 獵跋／猎跋 狼貝／狼贝 狼䟺／狼𬦥 狼跋 䠭䟺／䠭𬦥 獵跋／猎跋 躐跋 剌𣥠 剌癶 剌犮 剌八

Etymology

An Old Chinese ideophone of the phonetic shape /*raːd(s) paːd(s) ~ *raːŋ paːd(s)/ (ZS), initially used to describe a limping or stumbling gait.

Folk etymology (as used by Tang-Dynasty Duan Chengshi) states that 狽／狈 (bèi) was a wolf-like animal in Chinese mythology, which had very short forelegs and long hind legs, and needed to mount a wolf in order to walk, so the two animals would always hunt together. This eventually led to the meaning of “to conspire”.

Pronunciation

Rime
Character	狼	狽
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	來 (37)	幫 (1)
Final (韻)	唐 (101)	泰 (25)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	I
Fanqie	魯當切	愽蓋切
Baxter	lang	pajH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/lɑŋ/	/pɑiH/
Pan Wuyun	/lɑŋ/	/pɑiH/
Shao Rongfen	/lɑŋ/	/pɑiH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/laŋ/	/pajH/
Li Rong	/lɑŋ/	/pɑiH/
Wang Li	/lɑŋ/	/pɑiH/
Bernard Karlgren	/lɑŋ/	/pɑiH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	láng	bèi
Expected Cantonese Reflex	long4	bui3

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): lángbèi

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄤˊ ㄅㄟˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): long⁴ bui³
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): lòng-pi
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): liông-pōe / lông-pōe

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: lángbèi
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄤˊ ㄅㄟˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: lángbèi
    • Wade–Giles: lang²-pei⁴
    • Yale: láng-bèi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: langbey
    • Palladius: ланбэй (lanbɛj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɑŋ³⁵ peɪ̯⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: long⁴ bui³
    • Yale: lòhng bui
    • Cantonese Pinyin: long⁴ bui³
    • Guangdong Romanization: long⁴ bui³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɔːŋ²¹ puːi̯³³/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: lòng-pi
    • Hakka Romanization System: long^ˇ bi
    • Hagfa Pinyim: long² bi⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /loŋ¹¹ pi⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, variant in Taiwan, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: liông-pōe
    • Tâi-lô: liông-puē
    • Phofsit Daibuun: liongpoe
    • IPA (Xiamen): /liɔŋ²⁴⁻²² pue²²/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /liɔŋ²³⁻³³ pue³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /liɔŋ¹³⁻²² pue²²/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /liɔŋ²⁴⁻²² pue⁴¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /liɔŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ pue³³/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lông-pōe
    • Tâi-lô: lông-puē
    • Phofsit Daibuun: longpoe
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /lɔŋ²³⁻³³ pue³³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /lɔŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ pue³³/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /lɔŋ²⁴⁻²² pue²²/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /lɔŋ¹³⁻²² pue²²/

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• Middle Chinese: lang pajH

Adjective

狼狽

1. in an awkward or difficult position
2. fatigued; exhausted; tired
3. untidy; slovenly
4. (literary) shabby; worn out
5. (Hokkien) down and out
   • 2007, 蕭煌奇 (lyrics and music), “阿嬤的話”‎performed by 蕭煌奇:

     嘸通大漢像恁老爸仔這麼仔狼狽喔 [Taiwanese Hokkien, trad.]
     呒通大汉像恁老爸仔这么仔狼狈喔 [Taiwanese Hokkien, simp.]

     m̄-thang tōa-hàn chhiūⁿ lín lāu-pē-á hiah-nī-á liông-pōe--o͘h [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]

     Don't grow up to be like your daddy, so down and out.

Synonyms

• (in an awkward position): 尷尬／尴尬 (gāngà), 困窘 (kùnjiǒng), 難堪／难堪 (nánkān), 為難／为难 (wéinán)

Adverb

狼狽

1. (literary) hurriedly

Noun

狼狽

1. (archaic) two types of wolves
2. (archaic) evil person

Verb

狼狽

1. to collude; to conspire; to gang up
2. (literary) to cooperate; to coordinate
3. (literary) to strive; to do one's best

Derived terms

• 周章狼狽／周章狼狈 (zhōuzhānglángbèi)
• 狼狽不堪／狼狈不堪
• 狼狽為奸／狼狈为奸 (lángbèiwéijiān)
• 狼狽相倚／狼狈相倚
• 狼狽萬狀／狼狈万状
• 狼狽而逃／狼狈而逃
• 首尾狼狽／首尾狼狈

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (狼狽):

• → Japanese: 狼狽(ろうばい) (rōbai)
• → Korean: 낭패(狼狽) (nangpae)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
狼	狽
ろう Jinmeiyō	ばい Hyōgai
on'yomi

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɾo̞ːba̠i]

Noun

狼(ろう)狽(ばい) • (rōbai) 

1. flustering; confusion

Verb

狼(ろう)狽(ばい)する • (rōbai suru) suru (stem 狼(ろう)狽(ばい)し (rōbai shi), past 狼(ろう)狽(ばい)した (rōbai shita))

1. to be flustered; to be confused

Conjugation

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	狼狽し	ろうばいし	rōbai shi
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	狼狽し	ろうばいし	rōbai shi
Shūshikei ("terminal")	狼狽する	ろうばいする	rōbai suru
Rentaikei ("attributive")	狼狽する	ろうばいする	rōbai suru
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	狼狽すれ	ろうばいすれ	rōbai sure
Meireikei ("imperative")	狼狽せよ¹ 狼狽しろ²	ろうばいせよ¹ ろうばいしろ²	rōbai seyo¹ rōbai shiro²
Key constructions
Passive	狼狽される	ろうばいされる	rōbai sareru
Causative	狼狽させる 狼狽さす	ろうばいさせる ろうばいさす	rōbai saseru rōbai sasu
Potential	狼狽できる	ろうばいできる	rōbai dekiru
Volitional	狼狽しよう	ろうばいしよう	rōbai shiyō
Negative	狼狽しない	ろうばいしない	rōbai shinai
Negative continuative	狼狽せず	ろうばいせず	rōbai sezu
Formal	狼狽します	ろうばいします	rōbai shimasu
Perfective	狼狽した	ろうばいした	rōbai shita
Conjunctive	狼狽して	ろうばいして	rōbai shite
Hypothetical conditional	狼狽すれば	ろうばいすれば	rōbai sureba
¹ Written imperative ² Spoken imperative

Conjugation of "狼狽する" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)