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Hong Kong Code-mixing Dictionary

A contemporary Cantonese-English dictionary


10 random words out of 852 results

520

Definition: Originated from Mandarin meaning 'I love you', this is a code-mixing term used by native Hong Kongers to refer to '唔要你' in Cantonese, which means "Don't want you" in English.

Usage: E.g. A: 今日係520喔!點解您孤伶伶一個人呢?B: 哈哈哈哈哈,你個問題咁得意架咩?(A: Today is May 20th! Why are you so lonely? B: Hahahaha, why is your question so interesting?)

Synonym: 唔要你

Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1pTDlz4Vns

pretend to be a pig to eat a tiger

Definition: A Kongish code-mixing phrase that refers to acting dumb and innocent in order to win someone, such as in a card game.

Usage: E.g. I know you've got an ace up your sleeves! Stop pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger!

Synonym: 扮豬食老虎

Reference: https://ling-app.com/yue/cantonese-slang-words/

dude

Definition: A slightly more polite sounding code-mixing term that real ABC's in Hong Kong like to use instead the Cantonese equivalent '大佬', meaning 'big brother', even though the literal meaning is usually not taken when used, just like the word 'dude'.

Usage: E.g. Dude,你係到搞D咩呀? E.g. Dude,你好還錢喇喎? E.g. Dude,你以為你自己好型呀?

Synonym: 大佬

seung sik

Definition: A Kongish code-mixing phrase that local Hong Kong students use to refer to common sense or knowledge.

Usage: E.g. End sem jip lib is seung sik okay? (完Sem摺拉是常識 Okay?)

Synonym: 常識

Reference: https://www.hk01.com/開罐/283411/大學生打字用火星文-10句港式英文拼音大挑戰-測試你識幾多

upgrade

Definition: A code-mixing term meaning to further oneself's studies.

Usage: E.g. 做人要不斷upgrade自己先夠充實架嘛。

friend

Definition: (adj) Often pronounced as 'fan', this is a noun-turned-adjective code-mixing term used to describe the degree of a friendship.

Usage: E.g. 你係咪同佢好fan架? E.g. 喂,你唔好扮哂好fan咁喎。我都唔係識左你好耐。 E.g. 其實我同你唔係好fan。

Reference: https://holiday.presslogic.com/article/224449/港式-廣東話-中英夾雜-口語-香港人-搭lift-食lunch

wun gut

Definition: Derived from 'gut' (吉) meaning nothingness or tangerines, this is a romanised code-mixing slang phrase used to describe someone is messing about and wasting time, which purportedly comes from people in the past going into Hong Kong stores just to drink the bowl of soup called 'gut' soup (吉湯) without spending money on the food at all. 'wun' can mean to mix (混) or to transport (運).

Usage: Auntie: Stop tasting my fruits here and there! Are you wun gut?

Synonym: 運吉, 混吉

Reference: https://www.timeout.com/hong-kong/things-to-do/cantonese-slang-you-need-to-know-right-now

deadline

Definition: A code-mixing term used by Hong Kong teachers to make it clear and explicit that their students are essentially dead if they hand in their homework or assignment late, as the Cantonese equivalent phrase ‘截止日期’ does not denote the meaning of death at all.

Usage: E.g. 聽日就係deadline, 唔交功課就零雞蛋!(Tomorrow is deadline. If you do not hand in your homework, you will get a zero mark!)

Synonym: 截止日期

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/809281/page/1

bonus

Definition: A chic-sounding code-mixing term that refers to year-end bonus (花紅) in Cantonese.

Usage: E.g. 你間公司今個年尾有bonus嗎?

Synonym: 花紅

Reference: https://aclanthology.org/O09-5003.pdf

gemgem

Definition: A code-mixing term that native Hong Kongers use to refer to Gemini AI.

Usage: E.g. 中四中五,兩班都係入到課室嗰刻先知「全錯」,臨時叫gemgem用10秒整理一個ppt,我依然繼續上堂。(For two classes of Form 4 and 5, I only knew that the powerpoint slides were "all wrong" the moment I entered the classroom. Then I quickly asked Gemini to organize a ppt in 10 seconds, and I still managed to teach the classes.)

Synonym: Gemini

Reference: https://facebook.com/612468728/posts/10164582559278729/?rdid=djANzUPXcw6SopFY&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2F17nv7x2uZC%2F#

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