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liao

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liao¹

  • [ljaʊ˨˩] Singapore
  • [ljaʊ˨] Singapore, interrogative
  • [ljaʊ˦˨] Singapore

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Hokkien 了 (liáu) and Teochew 了 (liao²), with tone and spelling influenced by Mandarin 了 (liǎo) and its romanization in Hanyu Pinyin.

particle leow · lo · loh

  1. Manglish, Singlish Indicates action completion, or more generally, perfective aspect. I run 4 laps liao.

    Similar: already

  2. Manglish, Singlish Marks a change in state, more or less in the same manner as the inchoative aspect (see usage notes). It’s going to rain liao.

    Similar: already

  3. Manglish, Singlish, with imperatives Used to emphasize that something has to be done now. Go liao!

    Similar: already

liao²

  • [ljaʊ˦˨] Singapore

Where it comes from

From Mandarin 料 (liào, “ingredients”).

noun

  1. Singapore, colloquial, uncountable Meats, vegetables, and other ingredients added to an otherwise plain dish. Bak Chor Mee, less mee, Auntie. No extra liao today.

Liao³

  • /ljaʊ/

Rhymes with -aʊ

Where it comes from

A romanization of the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of 遼 /辽 (Liáo)

proper noun

  1. A river of Manchuria (northeastern China) The centre of Chinese influence in Manchuria was mainly Liaotung peninsula and along the Liao River valley.
  2. One of various medieval dynasties of Khitan rulers in Chinese history originally from its watershed To the Han people, the Khitan were not much more than barbarians. Interlopers from the Mongolian steppes, they moved into the northern provinces of China in the 10th century and established the Liao empire (named for the Liao River), one of the wealthiest and most powerful dynasties of its time. The

    Similar: Khitan

  3. uncommon Liaoning, a Chinese province surrounding and named for the Liao watershed

Liao⁴

  • /ljaʊ/

Rhymes with -aʊ

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Mandarin 廖 (Liào).

proper noun

  1. A surname from Chinese.

Liao⁵

  • /ljaʊ/

Rhymes with -aʊ

Where it comes from

A romanization of the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of 僚 (Liáo)

proper noun

  1. Synonym of Rau, a people of southeastern China

    Similar: Rau

Translations

Every language

name river; dynasties; abbreviation

中文遼 /辽 Liáo

name surname

中文廖 Liào

name people group

中文僚 Liáo

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"liao." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/liao. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

liao. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/liao

Chicago

"liao." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/liao.

BibTeX
@misc{liao_2026,
  title = {liao},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/liao},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}