乡巴佬 (xiāng bā lǎo) — hick, yokel, country bumpkin (derogatory)

Definition

Derogatory slang for a 'country bumpkin' or hick — implies someone unsophisticated, behind the times, or out of touch with modern city life. Always insulting; do not use it about yourself casually or in formal contexts.

noun

hickyokelcountry bumpkin (derogatory)

Measure word · 个

Examples

乡巴佬，。
Tā jiào wǒ xiāng bā lǎo, wǒ hěn shēng qì.
He called me a hick, and I was very angry.
，乡巴佬。
Yǒu xiē rén kàn bù qǐ nóng cūn rén, jiào tā men xiāng bā lǎo.
Some people look down on country folk and call them hicks.
乡巴佬，。
Bié xiàng gè xiāng bā lǎo yí yàng, lián diàn nǎo dōu bú huì yòng.
Don't be such a hick — you don't even know how to use a computer.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鄉; 乡 is its simplified writing.

𠨍𠨍𠨍two people facing each other
皀皀jía round-mouthed food vessel

The traditional form 鄉 combines two people facing each other with a round-mouthed food vessel, depicting a feast. The village meaning is connected to this feasting event.

Open 乡 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 巴 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

亻老佬

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénman; person

Sound part声符shēngfú

老

老lǎo佬lǎo

Same sound today

佬 combines 亻, a person, with 老, which gives the pronunciation.