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 |
| 目中無人 | bak tiong bo lang | no person in his eyes | a person who looks down on others |
| 輕聲細說 | k’in snia swe sê | light sound, small speaking | describing a soft-spoken, refined person |
| 萬代久 | ban tai ku | ten thousand generation long | a long time |
| 空頭分 | k’ang t’ao hun | empty share | share of an industrial partner |
| 不三不四 | put sam put si | neither three nor four | dubious, shady character |