Definition
People who are considered disreputable, criminal, or morally questionable; individuals of low social status.
Etymology
Compound: low (Old English 'lah' meaning not high) + life (Old English 'lif'). Appearing as 'lowlife' in early 20th-century American slang, it became a fixed compound.
Kelly Says
The word 'lowlife' is a perfect example of how social class judgments get baked into language—the word literally means 'low-life' as if some lives were positioned higher or lower, which reflects historical class prejudices.
Translations
BNবাংলা
নীচু লোক
/nīcu lōk/
CACatalà
gentalla
/ʒənˈtaʎə/
CSČeština
nízká společnost
/ɲiːzkaː spɔlěcnost/
DADansk
løsgængere
/loˀsɡɛŋərə/
DEDeutsch
Abschaum
/ˈapʃaʊm/
ELΕλληνικά
αχρείοι
/axrɛˈi/
ESEspañol
canallas
/kaˈnaʎas/
FAفارسی
فرومایگان
/forumāygān/
FISuomi
alhaisten
/ˈalhɑi̯stɛn/
FRFrançais
vauriens
/vɔʁjɛ̃/
GUGU
નીચ લોકો
/nīca lōkō/
HAHA
masu kasa
/masu kasa/
HIहिन्दी
नीच लोग
nīch log
IDBahasa Indonesia
penyelia
/pənjaˈlia/
IGIG
ndị ọjọọ
/ndi ɔdʒɔɔ/
ITItaliano
farabutti
/faɾaˈbutti/
KKKK
төменгі адамдар
/tømengi adamdar/
KMKM
មនុស្សអាក្រក់
/mɔnuh akkak/
MSBahasa Melayu
penyelia
/pənjaˈlia/
MYမြန်မာ
မိုက်မဲ့သူများ
/mouk mɛʔ ðù myaː/
NLNederlands
schoeljes
/ˈsxuljəs/
NONorsk
løsgjengere
/loːsɡɛŋərə/
PAPA
ਨੀਵੇਂ ਆਦਮੀ
/nīvēṁ ādamī/
PLPolski
łajdacy
/ˈwajdat͡sɨ/
PTPortuguês
vagabundos
/vɐɡɐˈbundus/
RORomână
răufăcători
/rəufəkəˈtor/
RUРусский
негодяи
negodyai
SVSvenska
lösdrivare
/løːsdrɪˈvɑːrɛ/
SWKiswahili
watu wa mabaya
/watu wa mabaya/
TAதமிழ்
தாழ்ந்தவர்கள்
/tālntavarkaḷ/
TEతెలుగు
దుర్మార్గులు
/durmārgulu/
THไทย
คนชั่ว
/kʰon tɕʰuə/
TLTL
mga masasama
/mɐ ˈmasasɐma/
TRTürkçe
alçaklar
/alˈtʃaklɑr/
UKУкраїнська
негідники
/neɦidɲɪkɪ/
URاردو
نالائقی
/nālāʾiqi/
VITiếng Việt
kẻ thấp hèn
/kɛ˧ tʰap˧˧ hɛn˧˧/
ZUZU
abantu ababayo
/abantu ababayo/