Hong Kong Code-mixing Dictionary

Definition: Usually placed at the start of a clause or sentence, this is a code-mixing term used by native Hong Kongers to replace the phrase '無論如何', meaning 'no matter what' in Cantonese.

Usage: E.g. 我知你好忙，但anyhow，你一定要幫我。

Synonym: 點都好

Definition: Originated from the word 'start', this is a code-mixing term used by the Hong Kong government to refer to the starting point of a running track.

Usage: E.g. 再有政府設施串錯英文。「起點」英文串法由正確的「Start」變為「Strat」。(There is an English word mispelled in a government facility again. The word "Start" became "Strat".)

Synonym: 起點, start

Reference: https://www.instagram.com/p/DWMLrukj_sZ/?igsh=d2NkZXFvN3AycjZt (use mobile version)

Definition: Originated from Japanese TV show, this is an Englishised code-mixing term used by westernised Hong Kongers to refer to a teenage-like person who often only lives in their own world and does things just to satisfy themselves, or even acting as if they have secret powers.

Usage: E.g. 鍾培生吊威也求婚女友未say yes硬戴戒指網民：太中二了 (Derek Chung proposed to his girlfriend with a wire stunt and put the ring on her while she has not even said yes. Netizens commented: "Such secondary two syndrome!")

Synonym: 中二病

Reference: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1239684264415029/

Definition: Derived from '大耳窿' with '窿' sounds like 'loan' in English, this is a Kongish code-mixing phrase that refers to a person or company that offers loans at extremely high interest rates.

Usage: E.g. Don't borrow money from this company. It is a big ear hole!

Synonym: 大耳窿

Definition: A code-mixing term used by working class Hong Kongers to refer to the formal document sent by a seller to a buyer as a request for payment, which is be differentiated from a receipt.

Usage: E.g. 你俾完錢收到嘅果張係叫收據，係receipt，但啲大陸人係統一叫發票。(What you receive after payment should be called a receipt, but mainland Chinese people also refer to it as an invoice.)

Synonym: 發票; 請款單

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/2808375/page/1

Definition: Pronounced as 'N-call', this is a code-mixing term used to get the performer to sing one more time at the end of a concert.

Usage: E.g.今次演唱會唔知會ＥＮＣＯＲＥ幾多次呢？ E.g. Encore!!!我今次要encore到爆為止！

Synonym: 唱多一次

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 Kongish code-mixing term used by Hong Kongers to emphasize how crowded and jam-packed a place is.

Usage: E.g. 同事：今日搭車返工多唔多人呀？ 你：多呀，可以話係ｐｅｏｐｌｅ　ｍｏｕｎｔａｉｎ　ｐｅｏｐｌｅ　ｓｅａ呀。 E.g. 你：哇，人山人海呀！朋友：簡直係ｐｅｏｐｌｅ　ｍｏｕｎｔａｉｎ　ｐｅｏｐｌｅ　ｓｅａ啦！

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

Definition: Often pronounced without the 'd', this is a neutral-sounding code-mixing term used by native Hong Kongers when they are not sure which Cantonese equivalent word to use when something unexpected happens.

Usage: E.g. 哇，你考試咁高分，我好surprised呀。(Wow, you scored a high mark in your exam. I'm so surprised.) E.g. 哇，你最近減肥呀？我好surprised呀。 (Wow, you went on a diet recently? I'm so surprised.) E.g. 哇，你有男朋友？我好surprised呀。(Wow, you got a boyfriend? I'm so surprised.)

Synonym: 驚喜，驚訝

Reference: https://tsangyoksing.hk/2009/10/06/輕音節的正確讀法/