Hokkien, on the tongues of Tsinoys, has grown and evolved, taking on a life of its own. Sometimes words simply fail us. With some creativity, Tsinoys have strung together words to form colorful phrases that simply hit the bull’s eye. Here are some expressions unique to Hokkien as favored by Tsinoys.
| 長脚骨 | teng k’a kut | long foot | one who is lucky to catch up something on time |
| 纏頭蛇 | tin t’ao tsua | snake with head tangled | bothersome, annoying, disgusting persons |
| 無地當去 | bo te t’ang k’i | nowhere to go | describing someone who is idle and nothing to do |
| 好酒沉缸底 | ho tsiu tim ang tue | good wine stick to the bottom of the jar | everything good is at the end |
| 緣投塊 | yan tau te | someone with charisma | handsome |