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 |
| 臨時抱佛腳 | lim si p’o put k’a | embracing the Buddha’s feet in an emergency | someone not preparing and cramming at the last minute |
| 雙腳踏雙船 | sang k’a ta sang tsun | two feet on two boats | playing both sides just to be sure |
| 脫褲放屁 | t’eng k’o pang p’ui | removing one’s trousers to fart | using a useless action to prove something |
| 盤屎過甕 | puan sai ke ang | to transfer a bowl of feces to another | doing things without a proper mind set, making endless changes |