New video uploaded over the weekend!
Anybody going to Hong Kong over the summer? :)
I think she accurately captures the feelings of a lot of first-generation Cantonese people in other countries (re: speaking Cantonese ‘well’).
要靚唔要命 (yiu leng m yiu meng) is an idiom that means a person attaches more importance to beauty than to health/life. It also used as a hyperbole of sorts, to describe people that spend time/effort on their looks (taking a long time to get dressed, do makeup, etc.). Literally, it translates to “wants beauty but doesn’t want life.”
(jyutping: jiu4 leng3 m4 jiu4 meng6)
Only Chinese people will get this.
Ha! :)
打邊爐 (da bean lo), as perfectly described by CantoDict, is “similar to fondue, but instead of dipping bread and fruit into cheese and chocolate, you dip pieces of raw meat and vegetables into a communal pot of boiling soup.”
(jyutping: daa2 bin1 lou4)
The myth that all Chinese dialects use the same characters…
Take even the most well-known Chinese dialects in the West (Mandarin and Cantonese) and then take some of the most basic words (personal pronouns), you’ll still find differences.
Also, within Mandarin, it depends on whether you write in Mainland China (Simplified) or Hong Kong / Taiwan / Singapore / Overseas (Traditional). That in itself poses another reason why trying to simplify things only makes things harder.
Photo: 鴛鴦 Milk tea mixed with coffee (by SeetYing)
鴛鴦 (yeen yerng) is a type of drink that is half coffee, half milk tea. The phrase “鴛鴦” is used to describe a pair that is somewhat mismatched.
In Chinese, 鴛鴦 is also mandarin ducks - a reference to how different the male and female look. (On that note, 鴛鴦 can also be used to refer to a couple as ‘lovebirds’.)
If you really must be clear, you can order a 鴛鴦茶 (yeen yerng cha), a mixed “tea”, but servers will know what you mean without the extra word in there.
jyutping: 鴛鴦 = jyun1 joeng1; 茶 = caa4
In Spanish, you would not use “(estar) embarazada” to express your embarrassment.
In Cantonese, you would not describe your full/round stomach as 大肚 (dai tou; literally big stomach).
Both of these actually mean “to be pregnant”.
jyutping: daai6 tou5
污糟貓 (wu jo mau), literally dirty cat, is a phrase used to describe a child who is very sloppy or messy. For example, a parent may call his/her child that doesn’t clean their room a 污糟貓.
(jyutping: wu1 zou1 mau1)
Hi! Which college do you go to and what are you majoring in? I'm a senior going to college this fall in California and I share the same passion for Chinese [idioms, puns, and more] as you do. I also never liked Chinese school, but what got me into learning was my dream to go to Hong Kong. I had to be able to read all the road signs and billboards!
I’ve actually graduated from college already but I majored in Business, with a concentration in Marketing, and minored in Hispanic Studies. Ever since I was younger I’ve wanted to speak (and I quote my 10 year old self) “every language in the world.” Part of that interest was seeing how different cultures express similar ideas. I think knowing more than one language naturally made me analyze and pun-ify things for fun, haha. :)
hey new yorker!!! after going thru your blog i see that some things seem slightly off. do you mind if i send u messages from now on about certain things?
Please feel welcome to do so! I have a little disclaimer that I actually don’t read Chinese much at all so I welcome any discussion/corrections :)
Collaborative learning!
I think it’s interesting that 明 (ming), which means bright and clear, consists of day/sun 日 (yut) and moon 月 (yuet), the objects which light the sky.
(jyutping: 明 ming4, 日 jat6, 月jyut4)
(Source: cantoawesome)
佛口蛇心 (fut hau seh sum), translated literally as “Buddha mouth, snake heart” is said of one who appears to be gentle on the outside, but has bad intentions on the inside.
(jyutping: fat6 hau2 se4 sam1)
I don’t know about where you are, but here on the east coast of the states, I am patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for some real 春天 (cheon teen), or spring.
Also, curiously enough, spring rolls in Cantonese are actually literally “spring” rolls: 春捲 (cheon gyun). I wonder where that comes from?
(jyutping: ceon1 tin1; ceon1 gyun1)
About In Cantonese, please.
