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Definition: Pronounced as 'bee-lee-bah-la', this is a code-mixing onomatopoepic phrase used by native Hong Kongers in a 90's limerick to describe someone talking a lot, loudly or fast.
Usage: E.g. XXX（人名）未夠18歲學人揸飛機，跌落屎坑執玻璃，返到屋企唔忿氣，BiLiBaLa放臭屁，阿媽以為漏煤氣，原來衰仔放緊屁。(E.g. XXX (name) learned to drive a plane under 18 years old, and fell into the toilet to pick up the glass. He returned home feeling resentful, then kept talking a lot and made a stinky fart. His mother thought there was a gas leak, but it turned out that the bad boy was farting.)
Synonym: 嗶哩叭啦
Definition: Known as Kongish, this is a code-mixing term that refers to chatting casually or bragging about something.
Usage: E.g. 收皮啦！唔好再blow water！
Synonym: 吹水
Reference: https://hklanguage.home.blog/tag/kongish/
Definition: Derived from '吹水唔抹嘴', this is a Kongish code-mixing term that refers to someone who brags about his or her achievements and doesn't take any responsibility for it. ie. To talk bullsh*t.
Usage: E.g. Don't believe in what he says! He likes blowing water without wiping mouth all the time! (唔好信佢講既野！佢成日都鍾意喺度吹水唔抹嘴！)
Synonym: 吹水唔抹嘴
Definition: A chic-sounding code-mixing term that refers to year-end bonus (花紅) in Cantonese.
Usage: E.g. 你間公司今個年尾有bonus嗎?
Synonym: 花紅
Reference: https://aclanthology.org/O09-5003.pdf
Definition: To reserve something, such as an appointment or place, without sounding like it's a date.
Usage: E.g. 請問你幫我book左個appointment未? E.g. 聽日book左枱未呀？（訂枱）
Synonym: 訂; 約
Reference: https://www.lib.eduhk.hk/pure-data/pub/201902353/201902353_1.pdf
Definition: Often pronounced as '波士', this is a more polite sounding code-mixing term that Hong Kongers often use to refer to '老闆', especially when working in a corporate company.
Usage: E.g. 做波士就好啦。我地呢班打工仔一世做奴隸。
Reference: https://www.gushiciku.cn/dl/0pydp/zh-hk
Definition: A more subtle way for Hong Kongers to refer to the undergarment worn by women, as the Cantonese equivalent term '胸圍' may sound too explicit and embarrassing in mentioning the female's body part.
Usage: E.g. 哎呀，我今日唔記得左載bra添。
Synonym: 胸圍
Reference: https://www.lib.eduhk.hk/pure-data/pub/201902353/201902353_1.pdf
Definition: A code-mixing term used by working class Hong Kongers to refer to a meeting that highlights the key points rather than something that is more like a presentation.
Usage: E.g. 返工要提前返去briefing又唔計工時係咪犯法？(Is it illegal for an employee to go to work earlier for a briefing but not pay them salary?)
Synonym: 簡報會
Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/2566840/page/1
Definition: A code-mixing term that only upper class Hong Kongers know how to use to refer to a meal where people serve themselves the food because of the French origin of the word which makes it so hard to pronounce properly.
Usage: E.g. A: 放假不如食buffet呀？B: 你指蒲飛？(A: What about eating buffet during holiday? B: You mean po-fei?)
Synonym: 蒲飛
Reference: https://hk.news.yahoo.com/生日飯-餐廳-推介-推薦-生日餐廳-235652146.html
Definition: A Kongish code-mixing phrase that working class Hong Kongers use to describe a business structure that scams people and is prone to collapse or failure, as 'chicken' (雞) in Cantonese can also be used to describe something cheap or weak.
Usage: E.g. This company has people coming to work and leaving the job all the time! Such build chicken shed!
Synonym: 搭雞棚
Reference: https://ukdodgy.com/2024/04/06/scam