麦霸 (màibà): mic hog

Measure Word

一个麦霸 gè

Tā shì gōngrèn de màibà, yì shǒu jiē yì shǒu.

He's the acknowledged mic hog, song after song.

Jīnwǎn bié ràng tā dāng màibà, dàjiā dōu xiǎng chàng.

Don't let her hog the mic tonight, everyone wants to sing.

register

霸 here means 'hegemon/bully' as a colloquial suffix. Same pattern: 路霸 (road bully), 学霸 (top student), 车霸 (parking-spot hog).

culture

A core KTV archetype. Being called a 麦霸 can be flattering (great voice, confident) or annoying (selfish), depending on tone.

麦 mài

霸 bà