Hong Kong Code-mixing Dictionary

Definition: A chic-sounding code-mixing term used in Hong Kong Cantonese that shows the speaker's education background and western appeal.

Usage: E.g. 唔好意思，我週末要去shopping。唔得閒應酬你。 E.g. 做人唔shop下ping邊得呀？

Synonym: 購物

Reference: https://sites.google.com/site/hongkonglinguistics/Downhome/language-contact-in-hong-kong/cantonese-englishintra-sententialcode-switchinginhongkong

Definition: A code-mixing term that is used when you want to avoid describing someone as being '衰' or not nice.

Usage: E.g. 男仔：喂，我覺得你咁樣講野好衰呀。女朋友：你話我衰？！ E.g. 男仔：喂，我覺得你咁樣講野好mean呀。女朋友：講得岩。我有時講野係mean左D，不過唔至於係衰。

Definition: Translated from the punning of ‘粟米肉粒飯’ (shuk mai yuk lup fan), this is a Kongish code-mixing term that refers to a rice dish with creamed corn and pork served in Hong Kong Cha Chaan Tang restaurants.

Usage: E.g. Excuse me, may I have a ‘show me your love rice’?

Synonym: 粟米肉粒飯

Reference: https://hklanguage.home.blog/2019/11/12/kongish-a-new-language-of-hong-kongers/

Definition: A code-mixing term that working class Hong Kongers in the IT sector like to use to refer to the local environment of a computer.

Usage: E.g. 你要喺local試吓run個program，然後再upload上去個server到試。

Synonym: 本地

Definition: A code-mixing term that working class Hong Kongers use to recommend a candidate for a vacant position.

Usage: E.g. 如果你識到朋友做呢行，可以refer佢比我地嗎？

Synonym: 推薦, 介紹

Reference: https://goop.ai/topic/2r3f/尋英文補習教學partner

Definition: Said to have originated from 'copycat' in English, this is a Kongish code-mixing phrase that refers to someone who cheats or copies other people's answers in an exam. (出貓)

Usage: E.g. Don't dare to bring out the cat in an exam! (唔好咁大擔考試出貓！)

Synonym: 出貓

Reference: https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/lifestyle/article/3181508/cat-got-your-tongue-feline-inspired-cantonese-slang-all-kinds

Definition: This is a code-mixing term that is used instead of the Cantonese equivalent '文件夾' to refer to a physical folder or a virtual folder on a computer.

Usage: E.g. 喺你個desktop上面開個folder，然後將你既file放入去。 E.g. 老師：唔該把所有功課放喺你個文件夾入面。同學：吓？文件夾？老師，你係邊到黎架？

Synonym: 文件夾

Definition: A code-mixing term used by upper class Hong Kongers who have quite an expectation towards the price of a hamburger.

Usage: E.g. 你一個垃圾burger，要人畀過百蚊，根本冇可能長做長有。(Expecting people to pay over one hundred dollars for a trash burger is not sustainable in the long term.)

Synonym: 漢堡

Reference: https://www.edigest.hk/投資熱話/富二代-鍾培生-fiveguys-執笠-ed01-1934440/2/

Definition: A code-mixing term used by native Hong Kongers to refer to a person's mental state that is immediate for action without necessarily having done any preparation. When used in negation form 'not ready', it may mean that preparation is already done but the person is still not ready.

Usage: E.g. 如果一個女仔話鍾意你，但係未ready一齊，要我等，係咩意思 (If a girl says she likes you, but isn't ready to be together with you and asks you to wait, what does that mean?)

Synonym: 準備好

Reference: https://amp.lihkg.com/thread/3629688/page/1

Definition: A code-mixing phrase that real ABC's like to use to show that they are friendly and easy to talk to.  Sometimes, a 'man' is added to the end of the phrase for emphasis.

Usage: E.g. 喂，how's it going？近排幾好嗎？ E.g. How's it going man？！今晚得閒去bar嗎？