Define Your Term | Login
What is code-mixing? | Mission | About | Learn More | Downloads | Lectures | Videos |
Instagram Instagram
English | Chinese

Hong Kong Code-mixing Dictionary

A contemporary Cantonese-English dictionary


10 random words out of 852 results

promotion

Definition: A code-mixing term that Hong Kong salesman love to use as a strategy to advertise their products without sounding like they're doing it for the sake of spreading the word or selling their product.

Usage: E.g. 我地公司兒家做緊promotion。你唔買就走寶喇喂。(Our company is now doing promotion. If you don't buy, you'll miss out.)

Synonym: 宣傳,推廣

Reference: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340689372_Code-Mixing_as_a_Promotion_Strategy_in_Shopping_Centres

psycho

Definition: A code-mixing term that Hong Kong students use to refer to the subject 'psychology'.

Usage: E.g. 讀psycho難唔難呀?聽講今年有好多人肥左。

Reference: http://www.patrickchu.net/uploads/9/0/5/3/9053324/2007_free_ppt.pdf

upload

Definition: A code-mixing term that Hong Kongers often use to refer to uploading files to the internet. ('上載')

Usage: E.g. 快D幫我upload張相去IG啦!

Synonym: 上載

deserve

Definition: Known as 'JM tone', this is a code-mixing word that Hong Kong celebrity Janice Man use to refer to reserving someone, even though it is criticised as Fake ABC English due to a most likely wrong word usage.

Usage: E.g. 上天會deserve一個好好嘅人等緊我。(意思:reserve)

Reference: https://inews.hket.com/article/1522091/Janice%20Man英文教室%20%20教你練成JM%20Tone

fake

Definition: Originated from sports and often used with a ‘咗’ in Cantonese denoting past tense, this is a code-mixing term used by native Hong Kongers to refer to deceiving someone with a posture or misinformation rather than something like a fraud or scam, even though it can be serious at times causing real inconvenience to people.

Usage: E.g. 俾 "轉工要趁後生" 呢句嘢fake咗 (I got misled by the saying "Take the opportunity to change jobs while we are young".)

Synonym: fake咗

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/3004954/page/2

gong for

Definition: (textspeak) A Kongish code-mixing term meaning homework, which only Hong Kong local students can understand.

Usage: E.g. Jo jor gong for mei ar? (做左功課未呀?) E.g. Nei mong gong for meh? (你忙功課咩?) E.g. Jo sai d gong for la! (做晒D功課喇!)

Synonym: 功課

Reference: https://hklanguage.home.blog/2019/11/16/the-use-of-transliteration-in-kongish/

That's why

Definition: Often repeated after '所以' (so) in Cantonese, this is to reinforce what this speaker is trying to explain, especially in a work situation.

Usage: E.g. 程序上有好多野要double confirm,所以that's why個project到兒家仲未出街。

suppose

Definition: A generic term for a number of equivalent Cantonese words used to avoid absolute certainty.

Usage: E.g. 件貨suppose今日到。(預期-expectedly/predictably) E.g. 我suppose你係岩既。 (假設-guess) E.g. 警察係suppose要保護市民。 (應該-should)

build raw pork meat

Definition: Known as Kongish, this is a phrase used by native Hong Kongers to place blame on someone in order to let him/her to face charges of crime.

Usage: E.g. Let's build raw pork meat on this guy!

Synonym: 砌生豬肉

Reference: https://evchk.fandom.com/zh/wiki/砌生豬肉

salty wet

Definition: Known as Kongish, this is a code-mixing phrase that native Hong Kongers use to describe a person who is perverted. (鹹濕)

Usage: E.g. Don't be so salty wet watch girls all the time la.

Synonym: 鹹濕

Reference: https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/hong-kong/articles/8-colloquialisms-unique-to-cantonese

Define Your Term | Learn More
Feel free to send your comments and suggestions to info@megaexplorer.net.