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Hong Kong Code-mixing Dictionary

A contemporary Cantonese-English dictionary


42 results found

AI

Definition: A code-mixing term used by native Hong Kongers as a trendier way to refer to artificial intelligence because it sounds more powerful like an entity that is capable of operating on its own rather than something that is just man-made as the Cantonese term denotes.

Usage: 上司:萬一發現AI可以取代你,高層要郁你我都保你唔住呀。你見我隻字不提你就好醒水啦,AI咁勁,分分鐘郁埋我㗎死仔 (Boss: In case people find out that AI can replace you, I can't protect you if the senior executives have to fire you. You see I am not mentioning anything to them so you better be smart. Since AI is so powerful, it might even fire me in a minute, you brat.)

Synonym: 人工智能

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/3874628/page/1

Best

Definition: Often expressed as ‘老best’ meaning 'old best', this is a code-mixing term used by Gen Z native Hong Kongers to refer to a best friend that a person has known for a long time. (呢個好大部分時候係攞嚟應用自己啲friend呀樣表達自己個friend係好老友囉咁樣)

Usage: E.g. 你哋睇下呢個係我老best。(Let me show all of you. This is my old best friend.)

Synonym: 睇下呢個係我個好朋友, 老友, old best friend

Reference: https://mingpaomonthly.com/article/details/語文.書話/2025-02/1737624129007/老best、bestie有咩分別?%20(歐陽偉豪)

caring

Definition: A more broad and general code-mixing term used by native Hong Kongers to refer to having concern, kindness and empathy towards others but not to the point of being so loving.

Usage: E.g. 之前都識左個男仔, 一開始都好nice 好caring, 突然有一日係車鬧左我成個鐘。(I used to know a guy who was very nice and caring at the start, but there came a day where he suddenly scolded me for an hour in the car.)

Synonym: 關心別人;有愛心

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/3665573/page/28

case

Definition: A generic code-mixing term used for a number of Chinese words meaning 'case', in order to maximise communicative efficiency.

Usage: E.g. 喂,阿John。同我follow下個case得嗎?(個案) E.g. 今次呢單case好似唔簡單。(案件) E.g. 呢個病人個case睇嚴重D喎。(病情) E.g. 我明白你個case。(情況)

Synonym: 個案; 案件

common sense

Definition: A code-mixing phrase used by native Hong Kongers to describe someone as not having good judgement rather than lacking general knowledge, even though it can refer to both of these things when scolding someone.

Usage: E.g. Common sense 常人應該刷覺到既感通/道理 eg. 今日個女同事打扮得特別靚噴曬香水,放工應該有約會, 個晚最好唔好叫人OT (Common sense is what ordinary people should be aware of using their senses or reasoning. For example, if a female colleague dressed particularly well and sprayed perfume today, then you can guess they probably have a date after work. So you better not ask her to work overtime that night.) E.g. 你有冇common sense架?呢啲咁既野你自己google吓咪得囉!(Do you have common sense? For this kind of stuff you just need to google it yourself!)

Synonym: 常識

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/718878/page/3

double click

Definition: A trendy-sounding code-mixing term used by working class Hong Kongers to refer to pressing twice on a mouse or touchpad quickly and gently.

Usage: E.g. 我點樣 fix 我嘅滑鼠每次想 click 一下嘅時候,都會 double click 呢?(How can I fix my mouse? Whenever I click it, it clicks twice?)

Synonym: 雙擊

Reference: https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/u21xlf/how_do_i_fix_my_mouse_double_clicking_whenever_i/?tl=zh-hant

expect

Definition: A generic term for a number of different Chinese words of equivalent meaning, sometimes used to tone down your directness and also to maximise communicative efficiency.

Usage: E.g. 老師: 老師唔expect你100分,不過盡左力就得喇。(要求) E.g. 朋友: 今日係我生日。我expect你都比下面掛。(預料) E.g. 我冇expect過今次考試會考成咁。(預期) E.g. 上司對你冇咩expectation,總之搞掂D野就得喇。(期望)

Synonym: 要求; 預料; 預期; 期望

fat chicken meal

Definition: Originated from an early pension scheme offered by the Hong Kong government in the 2000's, this is a Kongish code-mixing phrase used by working class Hong Kongers to refer to a very generous voluntary severance package. Also known as the "golden handshake".

Usage: E.g. Let's apply for a fat chicken meal and retire early!

Synonym: 肥雞餐

Reference: https://zolimacitymag.com/pop-cantonese-fat-chicken-meal-肥雞餐-language-hong-kong/

file

Definition: Often pronounced as 'fi-lo' with a rising tone on the second syllable, this is a code-mixing term that is more generic to be used for a number of different items in Cantonese.

Usage: E.g. 唔該copy呢個file比我。(電腦檔案) E.g. 買多個file儲住D紀錄。(文件夾) E.g. 警察:我哋會睇返呢單case既file。(檔案)

Synonym: 文件夾; 檔案

Reference: https://aclanthology.org/O09-5003.pdf

foodie

Definition: A code-mixing term used by Gen Z native Hong Kongers that refers to a person who loves food and likes to try different kinds of food. However, it is often used as a term similar to the level of a gourmet even though the person may not be a food expert.

Usage: E.g. 而家啲ig foodie以為自己真係食評家。(Nowadays the foodies on IG really think they are real gourmets.)

Synonym: 美食愛好者

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/2093295/page/1

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