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.
| 靠山吃山，
靠海吃海 |
k’o suan tsia suan, k’o hai tsia hai | when close to the mountain, eat the mountain; when close to the sea, eat the sea | in order to survive, you should know how to exploit one’s position to one’s advantage |
| 吃沒打罵有 | tsia bo, p’a ma ooh | not getting to eat but receiving a spanking | not getting compensated but only blame and rebuke in return |
| 三日無做賊，
壹日做老大 |
san dit bo tsue tsat, tsi dit tsue lao tua | three days of no stealing, next day wants to be the big boss | derogatory to describe someone who rarely does good deeds but wants to show off |
| 看人吃，
目赤厭 |
kuan lang tsia, bak chiâ-yiâ | looking at someone eating and feeling jealous | envious of others instead of striving hard himself |
| 有吃有爭差 | ooh tsia ooh tsing tsa | there is a difference when you eat | yields positive results when one exerted effort to do a mission |
