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Hong Kong Code-mixing Dictionary

A contemporary Cantonese-English dictionary


650 results found

me time

Definition: A code-mixing term used by native Hong Kongers that is supposed to refer to a person’s private free time, but can also involve the presence of other people depending on the activity being done.

Usage: E.g. 請問你既me time only u? 定其實係online同緊人打機/傾睇戲 都叫me time ?! (May I ask if your "me time" is only yourself? Or is it being online with people playing games, chatting and watching movies are also called "me time"?!)

Synonym: 私人時間

Reference: https://amp.lihkg.com/thread/2721049/page/3

meeting room

Definition: A code-mixing term used by working class Hong Kongers to refer to a smaller kind of conference room for general purpose, such as having a small group meeting, 1 on 1 interview, zoom call, etc. However, it does not mean people should do all sorts of things in it such as chitchatting loudly and having a social party.

Usage: E.g. 呢排轉咗工,但公司係Shared Office。入面大部分都後生仔女。就算唔係坐埋一張枱都聽到佢哋大聲講大聲笑。啲meeting room又唔係多,長期俾人霸哂。到真係俾我book到都仲聽到出面啲聲 (E.g. I changed job recently, but the company is a shared office and most people are young, Even when I was not sitting at their table, I could still hear them talking and laughing out loud. There were also not many meeting rooms, so they were occupied for a long time. And when I booked a room, I could still hear their noise outside.)

Synonym: 會議室

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/4007435/page/1

meme

Definition: Often pronounced as ‘mee-mee’ with a falling intonation, this is a code-mixing term used by local Hong Kong students to refer to an idea, image or video that is spread quickly on the internet.

Usage: E.g. 有冇人覺得香港人整啲meme好撚尷尬???(Does anyone think the memes made by Hong Kong people are so f***ing awkward?)

Synonym: 迷因圖, 咪咪

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/2213202/page/18

mood

Definition: A code-mixing term used by native Hong Kongers to refer to a person's emotional state that can be driven by an atmosphere or a person.

Usage: E.g. 女朋友講完句野搞到我無晒mood (My girlfriend said something which made me lose my mood.)

Synonym: 心情

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/294607/page/3

naughty

Definition: A code-mixing term that a Jayden Mami uses to refer to a more playful misbehaviour in a lighthearted way rather than describing a child genuinely bad and unmanageable that the Cantonese equivalent terms tend to denote.

Usage: E.g. Jayden呀,唔好再咁naughty啦。你唔食菜,又唔飲湯,你唔會healthy架!(Jayden, don't be so naughty. If you don't eat vegetables and don't drink soup, you will not be healthy!)

Synonym: 曳;百厭

Reference: https://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/7397/

nei ming ng ming gong mud ye?

Definition: (textspeak) A Kongish code-mixing phrase that is often used among local students in Hong Kong girl schools when they cannot understand what the teacher says in a lesson.

Usage: E.g. *Teacher explains what to do for the lesson* Student A: Nei ming ng ming gong mud ye? Student B: Ng ming.

Synonym: 你明唔明講乜野?

Reference: https://www.hk01.com/開罐/124322/集體回憶-90後最有共鳴火星文-禾刀吾g-3-你有無份

ngo mm sik gong gwong dong wa

Definition: A romanised code-mixing phrase used by foreigners when they come across a local Hong Konger who thinks they know how to speak Cantonese. Literal meaning: I don't know how to speak Cantonese.

Usage: E.g. Foreigner: Mm goi sai! Dor jeh! Hong Konger: Wow, your Cantonese is so good! Foreigner: Ngo mm sik gong gwong dong wa.

Synonym: 我唔識講廣東話

Reference: https://www.timeout.com/hong-kong/travel/basic-cantonese-phrases-every-traveller-to-hong-kong-needs-to-know

no comment

Definition: A code-mixing phrase that working class Hong Kongers often use as a response to something they don't know an answer to.

Usage: E.g. Q: 返工最撚憎聽到咩口頭蟬?A: No Comment 唔係開會/回覆其他部門啲 email. 係同 team 同事有嘢唔識走嚟問你意見,答乜撚嘢 No Comment (Q: What is a catchphrase that you hate hearing the most at work? A: "No comment". But not when it is used in meetings or replying other department's email. It is when a colleague in your team doesn't know something and asks for your opinion, you reply with "No comment". XDXDXD)

Synonym: 冇意見

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/2692508/page/3

no offense

Definition: A code-mixing phrase used by native Hong Kongers when they are really considerate about offending someone before or after saying something, such as making a comment or remark. However, it can be entirely offensive sometimes even though the person says no offense.

Usage: E.g. 成日開口埋口都講No Offense嘅人,其實先係最Offense。(The person who always says no offense is very often the person who is the most offensive.)

Synonym: 有怪莫怪, 無意冒犯

Reference: https://www.facebook.com/100most/posts/毛牌觀察學-第五話成日開口埋口都講no-offense嘅人其實先係最offense要講offense嘢唔使咁就住嘅一係下次試吓改口講no-defense/1031481205006323/

off topic

Definition: A code-mixing term used by Hong Kong local students as a casual way of labelling something as not related to the topic matter at hand.

Usage: E.g. off topic講兩句: 文理都緊要,理科是硬道理,但文科(文學、歷史;或者是哲學)才是中學教育中唯一認真(seriousness)的科目。(Let me make a few off-topic remarks: Both arts and sciences are important, with sciences being the most important, but arts (literature, history, or philosophy) are the only subjects in secondary education that require seriousness.)

Synonym: 跟話題無關

Reference: https://www.threads.com/@yuxichau/post/C5vuQ64SgYQ?hl=en

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