唠 (lào): to chat

Meanings

1 to chat
2 to gossip
3 to natter (dialectal)

Characters

唠

lào

to chat; to gossip

Examples

奶奶喜欢和邻居唠家常。

Nǎinai xǐhuan hé línjū lào jiācháng.

Grandma likes to chat with the neighbors about everyday things.

咱们找个地方坐下唠唠。

Zánmen zhǎo gè dìfang zuòxia láo lao.

Let's find somewhere to sit and have a chat.

Tips

register

唠 is distinctly northern/northeastern Chinese dialect. In standard Mandarin, 聊 (liáo) is the neutral word for 'to chat.' 唠嗑 (làokē) is the full northeastern expression.

mistakes

唠 has two pronunciations: lào (to chat, dialectal) and láo (as in 唠叨 láodao, to nag). Different meanings, different tones.

Components

radical

口 kǒu

mouth

Left-side mouth radical — pictograph of an open mouth. Anchors 唠 in the speech-act family alongside 说 speak, 吵 quarrel, 唱 sing, 喊 shout. To chat or natter is mouth work par excellence, so the radical does direct semantic duty here.

phonetic

劳 láo

labor (here phonetic)

Right side 劳 supplies the sound — láo shifting to lào through the predictable tone change in this dialectal-flavored word. A faint semantic flavor leaks in: 劳 carries the sense of belaboring something, and 唠 in northern speech is the kind of mouth-labor neighbors do over a fence — talk that goes on and on.