Hong Kong Code-mixing Dictionary

Definition: Purportedly to have originated from the name of a disposable diaper, this is a code-mixing term that native Hong Konger use as a euphemistic way to refer to a person's buttocks, which is very appropriate to say when talking to toddlers.

Usage: E.g. 唔好曳啊，曳就打PAT-PAT (Don't be naughty, or else I will hit your buttocks)

Synonym: 屁股

Reference: https://shyyp.net/hant/phrase/PAT-PAT

Definition: A code-mixing term used by local Hong Kong students to refer to a simulated military battle game where air guns are used. It is more appropriate to use than the Cantonese equivalent ‘野戰‘ because fighting a wild battle has sexual connotations in Cantonese.

Usage: E.g. 男：不如一齊打war game好嗎？ 女：好呀 (Boy: What about playing war game together? Girl: Sure!) E.g. 男：不如一齊打野戰好嗎？女：*啪！* (Boy: What about fighting a wild battle together? Girl: *Slap!*

Synonym: 野戰

Reference: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/lin/cbrc/cbcl/doc/ppt/david_li.pdf

Definition: A code-mixing term used by Hong Kong celebrity Louis Koo (古天樂) in the TVB episode 'A Step into the Past' (尋秦記) when he was transported into the past to the days of Qin Dynasty.

Usage: E.g. *Wakes up and finds an army of horsemen rushing towards him* Sh*t!

Synonym: 弊, 死喇

Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edrNB8DXhmQ

Definition: Often complemented with '跌' meaning 'decrease'', this is a code-mixing term used by native Hong Kongers to describe the state of becoming worse and being out of shape, like a decrease in wattage of a device.

Usage: E.g. Sophie 搞咩，同GM 一齊後跌曬Watt, 由女神變平民，噤熄自己嘅光…冇曬自己。(What's wrong with Sophie? After being with GM, she became out of shape entirely. From a goddess to a commoner, she turned off the spotlight on her... and lost herself completely.)

Synonym: 瓦; 功率

Reference: https://www.threads.com/share/BBmvzp26S-/

Definition: A code-mixing term used by local Hong Kong students to refer to the numerical outcome of something rather than the consequence or ending of something.

Usage: E.g. 出嚟個result有70分。(The result which came out was 70 marks.)

Synonym: 數據; 結果

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/3797010/page/1

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 used by working class Hong Kongers to refer to making the remark "looks good to me" after doing a code review for a programmer, which means the work has been done properly.

Usage: E.g. Review完喇，ＬＧＴＭ！ϵ( 'Θ' )϶

Synonym: 睇落唔錯

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/3878537/page/24

Definition: A Kongish code-mixing phrase that local Hong Kongers use to refer to someone who is off-topic or providing irrelevant answers.

Usage: E.g. Lei dou gau m daap baat! Can you answer my question?!

Synonym: 九唔搭八

Reference: https://hklanguage.home.blog/tag/kongish/

Definition: A code-mixing term used by Hong Kong local students as a casual way of labelling something as not related to the topic matter at hand.

Usage: E.g. off topic講兩句: 文理都緊要，理科是硬道理，但文科（文學、歷史；或者是哲學）才是中學教育中唯一認真（seriousness）的科目。(Let me make a few off-topic remarks: Both arts and sciences are important, with sciences being the most important, but arts (literature, history, or philosophy) are the only subjects in secondary education that require seriousness.)

Synonym: 跟話題無關

Reference: https://www.threads.com/@yuxichau/post/C5vuQ64SgYQ?hl=en

Definition: Often pronounced without the 'r' sounds and with a rising tone on the second syllable, this is an a lot more linguistically efficient way of referring to printer (打印機）in Cantonese.

Usage: E.g. 內地人:個打印機喺邊呀？ 香港人：咩話？三個字咁累贅。叫返ｐｒｉｎｔｅｒ啦唔該。

Synonym: 打印機

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