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.
| 做家禮 （傀儡） | tsue ka le | be a puppet | one who can’t decide on his own; someone who has to depend on someone else’s dictate. |
| 通天曉 | t’ong t’ian h’iao | direct access to heaven | a person who knows everything |
| 寛寛過五關 | k’uan k’uan ke ngo kuan | easy to tackle five obstacles | describing a clever and easy going person. |
| 好花插牛屎 | ho hue tsa goo sai | beautiful flower planted on cow’s dung | usually referring to a beautiful lady matched with an ugly man |
| 鎗鎗滾 | tsiang tsiang kun | all excited | high emotions |