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.
| 錢毋趁，
豬哥做馬騎 |
tsin mm t’an,
ti ko tsue be k’a |
won’t earn money, prefer to ride a boar than a horse | someone who refuse to compromise at all cost |
| 一丸做二丸用 | tsit en tsue
neng en ing |
one peso used as two pesos | to optimize resources to full use and make full use of things |
| 允人卡慘欠人 | un lang
k’a tsam k’iam lang |
to give one’s consent is more serious than owing someone | a commitment is as good as a debt and needs to be honored and fulfilled |
| 埠頭錢埠頭用 | p’o t’ao tsin
p’o t’ao ing |
money earned in a place is used in that place | money earned in a place is spent there without comparing its cost to one’s place of origin |
| 買賣算分， 相請沒論 | bue buè seng hun, san tsian bo lun | in buy and sale, every point counts, when treating each other there’s no issue | doing business, every centavos counts but when treating friends, we don’t count costs |