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Definition: A code-mixing term used by the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department to describe something as very relaxing. However, the AI anti-drug video that used this word was taken down due to citizens suspecting that the video was promoting the illegal use of drugs instead of discouraging it.
Usage: E.g. 浪漫的煙圈，一支幫你忘記所有煩惱，好chill (Romantic smoke rings — one puff helps you forget all your worries. So chill.)
Synonym: 好放鬆
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
Definition: Derived from the Chinese term '內卷' and often translated as 'involution', this is an Englishised code-mixing term that describes an economic situation where excessive competition does not lead to development and innovation. This may lead to people feeling stressed, anxious, and trapped, as the two characters mean 'inside rolling'.
Usage: E.g. I'm stuck in the rat race! I'm so tired of competing with everyone just to climb the career ladder!
Synonym: 內卷
Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjTg1G8rpVc
Definition: Known as Kongish, this is a code-mixing phrase used by native Hong Kongers to describe strenuous tasks that are almost impossible to complete.
Usage: E.g. Getting my son to do homework is like pulling a cow up the tree!
Synonym: 拉牛上樹
Reference: https://www.localiiz.com/post/culture-local-stories-popular-cantonese-idioms
Definition: It is a slang used in casual, humorous contexts to describe the buttocks, often linked to the roundness of the full moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Usage: My first skateboard experience is i fell on my august 15th as soon as I stood on the board!
Synonym: 八月十五
Reference: https://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/32249/
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
Definition: Derived from the Chinese internet slang '躺平', this is an Englishised code-mixing term used to describe a lifestyle of doing as little as possible, due to knowing that there is a 'rat race' going on where everyone is competing for jobs such that it is almost impossible to keep up with the societal pressure.
Usage: E.g. This exam is so difficult! I am lying flat! E.g. I am not lying flat! I must continue to find a better job!
Synonym: 躺平
Reference: https://www.timeout.com/hong-kong/things-to-do/cantonese-internet-and-texting-slang-to-use-right-now
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
Definition: Originated from the song "Doot Doot (6 7)" by Skrilla, this is a code-mixing term used by Gen Z westernised Hong Kongers when they want to say 'I don't know' or refer to something 'so-so' as a rating. Sometimes, it may have no meaning at all, even when the person is juggling both hands up and down excitedly. Coincidently, six seven looks similar to the Cantonese expression '碌柒', which has the literal meaning of 'a stick of dick' and refers to an idiot.
Usage: E.g. A: How was the movie? B: Six seven. *Hands juggling up and down* (So-so.) E.g. A: What is the answer to this question? B: Six seven! (I don't f***ing know.)
Synonym: 唔撚知, 係喇掛
Reference: https://www.instagram.com/p/DQbVj-KkvEX/?hl=en (use mobile version)
Definition: A code-mixing phrase used by the K-pop singer Jackson Wang (王嘉爾) when he has nothing to say. Even though he was born in Hong Kong, it is often said that he has real American Born Chinese vibe, due to his strong knowledge of English filler terms while speaking in Cantonese.
Usage: E.g. 我從運動員到練習生到出道，去海外，我自己覺得我係捱到既。但係有時呢D咁既野真係hit到我，我真係...i don't know. (From being an athlete to a trainee to debut then overseas, I always thought I could endure. But when there were things that hit me sometimes, I really just... I don't know.)
Synonym: 我唔知
Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7-73ZG8G2s