斷背

See also: 断背

Chinese

		to break; to judge; absolutely to break; to judge; absolutely; decidedly	learn by heart; the back of the body; to be burdened learn by heart; the back of the body; to be burdened; to carry on the back or shoulder
trad. (斷背)		斷	背
simp. (断背)		断	背

Etymology

Calque of English brokeback; from the title of Taiwanese director Ang Lee's film Brokeback Mountain which featured a homosexual pair.

Since the movie's release, its Chinese name 斷背山 and this word 斷背 has constantly been also rendered as 斷臂山 and 斷臂 in the internet.

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Is this due to the dialectal homophony of 背 and 臂? If so, in which dialects are they homophonic?”)

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): duànbèi
(Zhuyin): ㄉㄨㄢˋ ㄅㄟˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): dyun⁶ bui³

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: duànbèi
  - Zhuyin: ㄉㄨㄢˋ ㄅㄟˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: duànbèi
  - Wade–Giles: tuan⁴-pei⁴
  - Yale: dwàn-bèi
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: duannbey
  - Palladius: дуаньбэй (duanʹbɛj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /twän⁵¹⁻⁵³ peɪ̯⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: dyun⁶ bui³
  - Yale: dyuhn bui
  - Cantonese Pinyin: dyn⁶ bui³
  - Guangdong Romanization: dün⁶ bui³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tyːn²² puːi̯³³/

Noun

斷背

(figuratively, slang) homosexuality or homosexual
斷背情／断背情 ― duànbèiqíng ― gay love

Derived terms

斷背之情／断背之情
斷背山／断背山

斷背情／断背情 (duànbèiqíng)