Hong Kong Code-mixing Dictionary

Definition: A code-mixing term that native Hong Kongers often use when they want to tell someone politely that they are not the sort of person they want to be with or attracted to.

Usage: E.g. 唔好意思，你唔係我個type。(Sorry, but you are not the type of person I want to be with.)

Synonym: 種類

Reference: https://www.dcard.tw/f/hkmacdaily/p/239885576/b/4-1

Definition: Made popular by an anti-drug advertisement featuring Hong Kong celebrity Aaron Kwok, this is a code-mixing term that native Hong Kongers use with the Cantonese word '嘢', which means 'take drugs' altogether, even though 'take嘢' literally means 'take thing'.

Usage: E.g. 保安局禁毒宣傳品出現「公關災難」，令「一齊企硬 唔take嘢」標語，在柱面上呈現「齊企硬 Take嘢」。There was a "PR disaster" in the Security Bureau's anti-drug promotional materials, which caused the slogan "Stand firm together, don't take any drugs" to be presented as ""Stand firm together and Take Drugs".

Synonym: take嘢, take drugs

Reference: https://www.instagram.com/p/DWGb-PriJLK/?igsh=b3Vwa2xmNHFuZ2Qz (use mobile version)

Definition: A salutation often used by real ABC Hong Kongers to ask how somebody is doing. However, it is often overused by Fake ABC's to strike a western impression on others. (Also used as "what's up")

Usage: E.g. 喂，ｓｕｐ ｍａｎ？ E.g. 偽ＡＢＣ：Ｓｕｐ ｍａｎ， ｓｕｐ， ｓｕｐ， ｓｕｐ．．．人們：得喇。唔好成日唔係又ｓｕｐ又喺到ｓｕｐ啦。好煩呀。

Definition: A code-mixing filler term used by westernised Hong Kongers when they don't really find the other person's topic is all that interesting in a conversation.

Usage: E.g. A: 我平時鍾意寫app，去語言交流免費教人廣東話。B: 哦，interesting, interesting... (A: I like writing apps and going to language exchange to volunteer teaching people Cantonese regularly. B: Oh, interesting, interesting...) E.g. 我見外國人成日都用interesting 黎答人，仲要面無表情，會唔會係根本interesting 係外國一直都只係解： 哦⋯⋯. (I often see foreigners use 'interesting' as a response in a conversation, but without facial expression. Could it be that 'interesting' merely means like 'oh....' from a foreigner's perspective?)

Synonym: 很有趣, 哦

Reference: https://lihkg.com/thread/1047783/page/1

Definition: Derived from '公主病', this is a Kongish code-mixing term that refers to a female who acts like a princess all the time and possesses the worst possible qualities such as narcissism and materialism. It tends to associate with Hong Kong women and is quite stereotypical of '港女', the Kong girl.

Usage: E.g. 港男：Why are you scolding me like this? Do you have princess sickness? (你做咩喺度鬧我呀? 你係咪有公主病?)

Synonym: 公主病

Reference: https://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/49823/

Definition: A code-mixing term used by native Hong Kongers to refer to exercise done in the gym. Even though it is often used as '做gym' (do gym), it is not to be confused with 'doing the gym' because the gym is actually the place where people do exercise in native English.

Usage: E.g. 想唔想一齊做gym? (Want to work out / do exercise in the gym together?)

Synonym: 健身; 健身室; 健身室運動

Reference: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/做gym

Definition: A code-mixing term often used by overseas educated Hong Kongers to refer to the day that work must be handed in and finalised.

Usage: E.g. 老闆:下次知道要搞咁耐就早Ｄ返公司喇。 下屬:你話有野要交比個客睇，但係冇話過係deadline喎。 E.g. 老闆:今日係ｄｅａｄｌｉｎｅ，做唔完野要ＯＴ。 下屬:Ｄ野一早就做哂喇。

Synonym: 截止日

Definition: (verb) A code-mixing term meaning to continue doing or retain control of something.

Usage: E.g. 日日keep fit先會健康架。 E.g. 你D身材keep得幾好喎。 E.g. 我地以後keep contact啦。 E.g. 不如keep in touch好唔好？

Synonym: 保持

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

Definition: A code-mixing term used by upper class Hong Konger girls to refer to having the strength or resilience to handle something emotionally, as in "I can take it", which they can sometimes do to a certain extent.

Usage: E.g. 出到嚟網上有咁多言論一路話我，我就覺得算啦，我係做呢行，我take(接受)咗佢啦，唔緊要啦。但take下take下，都take咗年幾兩年 (When I started working in this industry, there were so many discussions on the Internet talking about me, I thought it was okay because I knew I was in this industry, so I took it, it doesn't matter. But as I kept taking this and taking that, I realised that I had already been taking things in for a few years)

Synonym: 承受; 承受壓力

Reference: https://www.hk01.com/即時娛樂/60359289/jw王灝兒分手後啞忍兩年-眼濕濕平反拜金論-我仲使乜入tvb拍劇?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=01appshare

Definition: A code-mixing word that working class Hong Kongers love to use to refer to '資料庫' in the IT sector. Also see 'database'.

Usage: E.g. 連得到個db未? 定係connect唔到呢?

Synonym: 資料庫