Hong Kong Code-mixing Dictionary

Definition: Purportedly to have come from ‘娘’ meaning an old married woman, this is a code-mixing term used by native Hong Kongers to describe someone’s appearance as old-fashioned.

Usage: E.g. 你今日著衫好leung！(You dress very old-fashioned today!)

Synonym: 娘

Reference: https://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/phorum/read.php?14,140076,140076

Definition: A code-mixing term that local student Hong Kongers use to refer to 'music society'.

Usage: E.g. 唔知mu so今個sem有咩搞呢？

Synonym: 音樂學會

Definition: A code-mixing term used by upper class Hong Kongers to refer to the famous French luxury brand ‘Louis Vuitton’. However, the grassroots class Hong Kongers may pronounce it as ‘eh-lo-wee’.

Usage: Ａ：你最想買邊隻手袋呀？Ｂ：唔洗問緊係ＬＶ啦。(A: Which handbag do you want to buy? B: No need to ask. Must be LV.)

Synonym: Louis Vuitton

Reference: https://amp.lihkg.com/thread/3065984/page/1

Definition: A romanised code-mixing phrase that westernised Hong Kongers use to refer to an easy task, which is equivalent to 'piece of cake' in English.

Usage: E.g. A: Thanks for helping me out! B: No problem! Sup sup sui la!

Synonym: 濕濕碎

Reference: https://www.localiiz.com/post/culture-local-stories-guide-hong-kong-descriptive-slang-phrases

Definition: A code-mixing term that working class Hong Kongers like to use to describe a job that must be done in a company office.

Usage: E.g. 份合約講明份工要onsite做，冇得work from home。

Synonym: 現場，在工地

Definition: A code-mixing term that Hong Kongers like to use instead of '辦公室'.

Usage: E.g. 聽日返office定係work from home呀？

Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxrKXQowtvk

Definition: A code-mixing term that Hong Kong HR departments like to use when they report back to candidates on their interview result, which is more objective than the Cantonese equivalent that contains the phrase ‘評價‘, which tends to give people the feeling of being evaluated or judged.

Usage: E.g. 今日收到消息話你既面試表現都係positive架。(I received news today saying that your interview result was positive.)

Synonym: 正面評價

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/2492328/page/36

Definition: A code-mixing term that Hong Kongers often use to refer to sending things over the internet. ('發送')

Usage: E.g. 你可唔可以send張相比我呀？

Synonym: 發送

Definition: (vulgar, textspeak) A code-mixing term used by native Hong Kongers to describe someone who's idiotic and stupid. It originated from the Cantonese words '憨鳩' because the '鳩' (penis) has a similar pronunciation as the number 9 in Cantonese.

Usage: E.g. Why did you piss on me? Are you on9? (憨鳩) E.g. Don't be so on99 and watch where you're going! (憨鳩鳩)

Synonym: 憨鳩

Reference: https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=28512

Definition: A code-mixing term that Hong Kongers often use to refer to the Cantonese equivalent '使用者'.

Usage: E.g. 同完個user傾好要咩feature未呀？ E.g. 喺user既角度，呢個係一個bug。

Synonym: 使用者