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Hong Kong Code-mixing Dictionary

A contemporary Cantonese-English dictionary


10 random words out of 822 results

smash

Definition: A code-mixing term used by westernised Hong Kongers to refer to hitting a ball towards the ground forcefully in tennis, which not only feels good when defeating someone with such a gesture, but also it sort of gives the person a feeling of breaking something into pieces. Usage: E.g. 咁勁?!今次我要smash返你!(So powerful?! I'm going to smash you back!)Synonym: 殺球Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/3898753/page/7

onsite

Definition: A code-mixing term that working class Hong Kongers like to use to describe a job that must be done in a company office. Usage: E.g. 份合約講明份工要onsite做,冇得work from home。Synonym: 現場,在工地

ging

Definition: Known as Kongish, this is a code-mixing term often used by the younger generation to describe something or someone as very skillful or powerful. (勁) Usage: E.g. You won the competition?! Ho ging ah! (Very outstanding) E.g. You are so ging at basketball! (Very skillful) E.g. This computer is so ging! (Very powerful)Synonym: 勁Reference: https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/hong-kong/articles/12-phrases-you-need-to-know-before-you-visit-hong-kong#:~:text=An%2520alternative%2520to%2520“hou%2520ging,jeng”%2520if%2520something%2520is%2520awesome.

general

Definition: A code-mixing term used by native Hong Kongers when they want to describe something as too broad, vague or not specific enough without sounding too judgmental. Usage: E.g. 啲ad永遠都寫得好general,你唔in過根本唔知人地要咩人。(The job ads are always written in such a general sense. You can never know what they are looking for unless you have been interviewed by them before.)Synonym: 籠統 Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/1789393/page/34

I have no time

Definition: A Kongish code-mixing phrase used by local Hong Kong students to refer to having no time for activities such as dinner or party, which doesn't necessarily mean they have no more time left in their lives such as due to a terminal illness. Usage: E.g. A: Do you want to join the party tonight? B: I have no time.Synonym: 我冇時間Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj7SHv4Jhw4

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

high tech

Definition: (adj) A code-mixing term that Hong Kongers use to describe something that is advanced in technology.  There is a famous quote that goes "High Tech揩野,Low Tech撈野", which describes the volatility of high-tech products as opposed to low-tech products that have a larger market despite high competition. Usage: E.g. 哇,張枱有自動升降好high tech呀。Reference: https://www.lib.eduhk.hk/pure-data/pub/201902353/201902353_1.pdf

on call

Definition: A code-mixing phrase that is used by Hong Kongers to mean that they are ready to go to work whenever they get a call from their company. Usage: E.g. 我每星期工作五天。不過我假日都要on call。

assignment

Definition: A code-mixing term that Hong Kong students use to refer to '功課'. Usage: E.g. 喂,聽日交assignment呀,仲係到做咩呀?! E.g. 呢份assignment可以借黎參考嗎?Synonym: 功課Reference: http://www.patrickchu.net/uploads/9/0/5/3/9053324/2007_free_ppt.pdf

gay

Definition: A code-mixing term that native Hong Kongers use to describe someone who has an interest in the same gender without making it sound so clear and explicit in case someone is eavesdropping. At other times, it can be used to describe something as awkward such as a plot in a story or film. Usage: E.g. A: 我想問你一個問題:你係咪gay架? B: 唔好喇掛,我唔想搞gay。 (A: I want to ask you a question: Are you gay? B: No thanks, I don't want to be gay.) E.g. A: 今次套電影好睇嗎?B: 我覺得啲劇情好gay囉。(A: Do you like the movie this time? B: I think the story is really gay.)Synonym: 同性戀, 搞gayReference: https://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/1088/
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