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狼狽

Pronunciation: /lɑŋ³⁵ peɪ̯⁵¹/

“狼狽” is a Chinese word. Its 11 meanings in English:

adjective

  1. in an awkward or difficult position; in a tight corner
  2. in disorder; in confusion
  3. fatigued; exhausted; tired
  4. untidy; slovenly; shabby
  5. down and out; poor and frustrated in life

verb

  1. to collude; to conspire; to gang up
  2. to cooperate; to work in coordination
  3. to do one's best; to try by every possible means

adverb

  1. hurriedly; hastily; rapidly

noun

  1. wolf and a legendary wolf-like animal with short forelegs and long hind legs
  2. evil person

Etymology

An Old Chinese ideophone of the phonetic shape /*raːd(s) paːd(s) ~ *raːŋ paːd(s)/ (ZS), initially used to describe a limping or stumbling gait. Folk etymology (as used by Tang-Dynasty Duan Chengshi) states that 狽／狈 (bèi) was a wolf-like animal in Chinese mythology, which had very short forelegs and long hind legs, and needed to mount a wolf in order to walk, so the two animals would always hunt…

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