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Hong Kong Code-mixing Dictionary

A contemporary Cantonese-English dictionary


339 results found

so

Definition: A shortened term for the word 'socialise' in English, which may mean different things in various situations. Usage: E.g. 喂,你so吓人好喎?(to show that you care about others) E.g. 喂,唔好成日掛住soD女仔啦。(to court somebody) E.g. 喂,後生仔要出黎soso吓先得架嘛。(to socialise) E.g. 喂,你最近好似唔係好so-so喎。(being social)

seven

Definition: Pronounced as 'se-fun' with a rising tone on the second syllable, this is a shortened term used to refer to the 7-Eleven convenience store. Usage: E.g. 今日放工記得去seven買野呀。 E.g. 我要去seven交電話費。

qualie

Definition: Pronounced as 'call-lee' with a rising tone on the second syllable, this code-mixing term is used by native Hong Kongers to refer to the English word 'qualification'. Often used together with the word 'show' to mean 'show off'. Usage: E.g. 你冇qualie就唔好係到扮哂野啦。 E.g. 你唔好係到掛住show qualie啦,兄弟。 E.g. 睇唔出你咁有qualie喎。

prefer

Definition: A code-mixing term by native Hong Kongers to avoid saying the word 'like' in order to sound more professional in formal situations, or to avoid sounding biased when you like one item more than another. Usage: E.g. 你prefer今星期邊一日interview呀? E.g. 你prefer幾點睇戲呀? E.g. 我prefer佢個idea多D。Synonym: 比較喜歡

point

Definition: A more polite way to refer to a person's standpoint, as the Cantonese equivalent term '點', meaning a dot, can refer to a woman's breast. Usage: E.g. 男人:喂,我真係好唔明你個point喎!女人:唔緊要。我慢慢解釋比你聽。 E.g. 男人:喂,我真係好唔明你個點喎!女人:你話我邊點呀?唔好性騷擾喎!Reference: https://medium.com/@girlslearnenglish/你說話會中英夾雜嗎-被-污名化-的中英夾雜-why-code-mixing-is-totally-fine-32eb1f280ca

outlook

Definition: A code-mixing term that is often misused by Fake ABC's in Hong Kong to mean 'outfit'. Usage: E.g. BB豬,我今日個outlook係咪好靚呀?Reference: https://www.hk01.com/開罐/128449/你是否-偽abc-chill-中文意思係咩-10個港人常用錯英文字

Of course

Definition: A phrase used by native Hong Kongers to affirm that something is true or obvious, usually among friends and relatives in informal settings, especially with the particle 'la' in Cantonese. Usage: E.g. 朋友: 今日出街記住載口罩。 你:Of course啦! E.g. 女朋友: 哇,你好叻呀。 你:Of course啦! E.g. 男朋友: 估唔到你咁醒目。 你:Of course啦!

Never mind

Definition: A code-mixing term used by native Hong Kongers to tell someone not to worry about something anymore, even though it may not sound polite to English speakers. Usage: E.g. Never mind啦。我地下次再約。 E.g. Never mind啦。我自己搞得掂。

mon

Definition: Derived from 'monitor', this is a highly efficient use of one's eyes to keep track of the progress of somebody or something. Sometimes, even without the use of one's eyes. Usage: E.g. 喂,我咪喺度做緊野囉。你唔洗成日喺度mon住我嘛! E.g. 你:喂,大佬。你唔洗成日打電話黎mon住我嘛?!!對方:大佬?!你邊隻眼見到我mon住你呀?!! E.g. D股市跳得咁勁要成日搵人mon住先得架。

follow

Definition: A classic code-mixing term often used with the word 'case' to get someone to follow up on something in a professional manner.  However, it is now often associated with the 'follow' used in social media. Usage: E.g. 唔該同我follow吓個case呀。 E.g. 呢個case follow成點呀? E.g. 快D follow我個IG啦!Reference: https://www.gushiciku.cn/dl/0pydp/zh-hk