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.
| 現吃現走氣 | hian tsia hian ki-an k’i | effective immediately once taken | getting instant results |
| 好物毋定
飽人吃 |
ho boot mm ting pa lang tsia | food no matter how delicious does not attract to a man who is full | for wealthy people, valuable objects are no longer attractive |
| 吃老才學
吹鼓吹 |
tsia lao tsa ô poon ko tse | starting to learn how to blow the trumpet when one is old | teasing someone not acting his age |
| 黑字毋捌，
白字毋捌 |
o di mm pat ,
pe di mm pat |
cannot recognize black or white characters | no read no write, illiterate |
| 打一支給你到 | p’a tsi ki t’o
di kao |
throw a mahjong tile to let you hit the pot | to do acts to tease the receiving side sarcastically |
