Chinese

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phonetic
trad. (垃圾)
simp. #(垃圾)
alternative forms
 
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Etymology

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From earlier 擸𢶍 (làsà, “to jumble; jumble; litter”). Reduplication derived from a root (*lap or *sap) meaning "untidy, unclean". The pronunciation "lèsè" is possibly influenced by Wu.

Second syllable of the Mainland Mandarin reading lājī is irregular, resulting from the incorrect association of the rare character in its obsolete form () with the usual pronunciation of its phonetic component ( ()).

Cognate with 邋遢 (lāta, “unclean, untidy, unkempt”) (> 邋邋遢遢, 邋裡邋遢邋里邋遢).

Pronunciation 1

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Note: lah4 sab4 - Shantou.
Note:
  • 3la xi - modern, influenced by Mandarin;
  • 5leq seq - near-obsolete.

    Noun

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    垃圾

    1. (literally) garbage; rubbish; trash; waste; refuse; junk
      清理垃圾  ―  qīnglǐ lājī  ―  to clean up the rubbish
      垃圾  ―  rēng lājī  ―  to litter
    2. (figuratively) rubbish (a valueless thing)
    3. (computing, Internet, prefix) junk messages; spam; unsolicited messages
      垃圾郵箱垃圾邮箱  ―  lājī yóuxiāng  ―  spam folder
      昨天收到三十垃圾短信 [MSC, trad.]
      昨天收到三十垃圾短信 [MSC, simp.]
      Wǒ zuótiān shōudào le sānshí duō tiáo lājī duǎnxìn. [Pinyin]
      I received over 30 spam text messages yesterday.
    Synonyms
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    • (garbage):
    Derived terms
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    Adjective

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    垃圾

    1. (colloquial) very bad; rubbish
      電影垃圾电影垃圾  ―  Diànyǐng tài lājī le!  ―  This movie is so shit!
    Synonyms
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    Pronunciation 2

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    Adjective

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    垃圾

    1. (Hakka, Hokkien) dirty; unhygienic
    2. (Mainland China Hokkien) low and cheap; substandard and vile
    3. (Hakka) haunted
    Synonyms
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    Derived terms
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    Further reading

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