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.
| Idioms, expressions | Hokkien pronunciation | Literal translation | Meaning |
|
替人打尻川 (屁股) | t’wue lang p’a k’a-tseng | buttocks spanked on behalf of someone | to shoulder the consequences for someone |
| 打死賣鹽 | p’a si bue yam | kill the salt vendor | to insinuate that food is too salty |
| 歪嘴斜目 | wai tsuì tsuâ bak | twisted mouth and slanted eyes | to describe ugly looking people |
| 狡怪 | kao kuai | sly and cunning | describing a crafty, tricky person who acts with ulterior motives |
| 倒啊四腳向天 | pua-ah si k’a hiong tni | fall on one’s back with arms and legs facing the sky | total failure or loss in one’s goal |