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Hong Kong Code-mixing Dictionary

A contemporary Cantonese-English dictionary


153 results found

scare die me

Definition: A Kongish code-mixing phrase that working class Hong Kongers use when they are scared and freaked out by something.

Usage: E.g. Scare die me! You are so early in office today?!

Synonym: 嚇死我

Reference: https://graduate.ctgoodjobs.hk/article/20239/2025職場英語-別再說-LIST-OUT-10大常見港式英語錯誤-外國人都聽唔明-4個戒掉港式英語必學的商業用語及常用英式廣東話一覽

scout dan

Definition: Originated from the classic riddle '童子軍跳彈床' meaning scout trampoline, this is a code-mixing term that local Hong Kong students use to express the meaning of 'I don't f***ing care' in informal situations.

Usage: E.g. A: What do you want to eat for lunch? B: Scout dan la.

Synonym: 是鳩但

Reference: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/童子軍跳彈床——是鳩但

sell

Definition: A code-mixing term used by working class Hong Kongers to refer to an exchange of goods or services for money, but often with an extra service of persuading and pushing the customer to buy something they don't want to buy at all.

Usage: E.g. 個sales明明係sell野但係又講到唔係。(The salesperson was actually selling and pitching his product but he said he wasn't.)

Synonym: 賣野; 推廣

Reference: https://www.discuss.com.hk/viewthread.php?tid=27464402

selling point

Definition: A code-mixing term used by working class Hong Kongers to refer to a feature or quality of a product that persuades people to buy it. Compared to '賣點' in Cantonese, selling point can often extend to services and people, and can refer to personal attractiveness or uniqueness.

Usage: E.g. 以前佢地D selling point 係聽話忠誠 (Their selling point used to be that they were willing to listen and loyal to their customers.)

Synonym: 賣點

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/3746011/page/2

senior

Definition: A code-mixing term used by working class Hong Kongers to refer to an employee with an experienced background, but not necessarily the adequate skills to do the job.

Usage: E.g. 我條team條senior,叫佢廢物都覺得侮辱左廢物依個詞語,日日例牌遲到都算,咩都唔識 (E.g. As for my team's senior, I think it would even be an insult to the word 'rubbish' if I were to call him rubbish. Not only is he late every day, but also he does not know anything.)

Synonym: 資深; 高級

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/2386628/page/1

service charge

Definition: A code-mixing term that Hong Kong restaurants love to use especially during public holiday to refer to the additional fee added to a bill because it sounds more classy than '服務費' and less explicit than '加一' or '加二' in Cantonese, which mean +10% and +20% respectively.

Usage: E.g. A: 吓?食個下午茶都要加二? B: 今日係新年假期,所以有service charge。(A: What? There's +20% service charge even for an afternoon tea? B: Today is Chinese New Year holiday so there is service charge.) E.g. 到底邊個發明加一服務費?(Who on earth invented +10% service charge?)

Synonym: 加一, 加二, 服務費

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/2268003/page/4

shuttle

Definition: Often said without a 'bus', this is a chique sounding code-mixing term that working class Hong Kongers use to refer to a vehicle that has more specific and direct route to a destination. However, the Cantonese equivalent '穿梭巴士' may be used more often during holiday as it may sound more enjoyable and less 'chur' to ride on.

Usage: E.g. 我每日返工都有得搭shuttle,好快就到公司。 (I can take the shuttle to work every day and get to to office very fast.)

Synonym: 穿梭巴士,接駁巴士

Reference: https://www.weekendhk.com/網絡熱話/中英夾雜-港式廣東話-香港人-ctb02-by-1413297/2/

sick leave

Definition: Often used as the short form 'SL', this is a code-mixing term used by working class Hong Kongers to refer to a day where an employee is sick and needs to notify their company of their absence, which they often have a hard time explaining to their boss that they were really sick on that day.

Usage: E.g. 最撚仆街係SL完第二日就會俾老細問候你有冇事,然後你做乜嘢老細都會黑面 (The most f***ing stupid thing is that the next day after your sick leave you will be greeted by the boss asking if you are okay, and then no matter what you do the boss will still be dissatisfied.)

Synonym: 病假

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/3995179/page/3

sit

Definition: A code-mixing term that local Hong Kong students use to refer to sitting through a lecture without participating in it, which is usually used for those who don't belong to the class or course.

Usage: E.g. 同學:可以邀請我sit堂嗎? E.g. 我見到嗰位先生成日要sit堂。係助教還是professor?

site visit

Definition: A code-mixing term that working class Hong Kongers like to use to refer to a physical inspection of a site in order to discuss the scope of work with contractors and foresee any potential problems.

Usage: E.g. 進行project之前要做好site visit,以便理解好成個scope。

Synonym: 實地考察

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