The Body, Questions, Cosmetics, More Important Words

 

Parts of the Body

 

 

English

Cantonese

Comments

Char (Trad)

901

Head

tau

 

902

Hair

mOu

 

903

Eye

ngaan

Coll: ‘len’ is used as default in Foshan

904

Nose

bAi

 

905

Ear

d’zhE

 

906

Tongue

sit

 

907

Lips

CEon

 

908

Tooth or Teeth

ngaa CE

 

牙齒

909

Neck and Throat

geng

 

910

Arm

bAi

 

911

Leg

tEoi

 

912

Foot

gOek

 

913

Toe

gOek zhE

Toe or Toes

腳趾

914

Finger

sau zhE

 

手指

916

Thumb or Big Toe

mOu

Sure : its the same, and as ‘hair’ above

917

Wrist

wun

 

918

Breasts

hung bOu

 

胸部

919

Body

san

 

920

Sexual Organs

sing hAi

Normally referred to as ‘sI lO’ and ‘sI moo-yi’ = little brother/sister respectively

性器

 

 

Questions

 

921

Default Word

gAi

60% correct most of the time, and 90% by interpretation of your bad grammar

 

 

How

dim yeurng

 

 

 

Why

dim gaai

 

 

 

What

gAi Cei

 

 

 

When

gAi Cei

 

 

 

Where

bin doh

 

 

 

Which

bin gor

 

 

 

Who

bin gor

 

 

 

Note:

v      This is a generalised guideline only. Most questions either have their own specific phraseology, or are of the form ‘You go, not go ?’ etc

 

 

19 Useful Phrases

 

922

Stupid idiot

yut gao faan

An old lump of rice

一舊飯

923

Man who lives off a woman

yut faan wong

Soft rice King (wong = king) = not a proper man!

軟飯()

924

Stupid boy

sO lO

Also: Stupid husband

 

925

Stupid girl

sO pau

Also: Stupid wife

 

926

Oh My God !

Oh tien-ah!

Cantonese usually say the English

 

927

Fat pig

GEE-laa!

Usually about a girl, but can mean a boy

 

928

Good eating and drinking

taI sic, yut sic yuaam

 

 

929

How you doing?

lAi joy gun dim-ma?

Alt: ‘dim-ma joy gun lAi?’

 

930

Everything goes well

yut taI son lAi

 

 

931

I know

hO zhEi

Use specifically

 

932

I understand

g’nor zhEi laah!

Use generally

 

933

You understand?

lAi zhEi laah?

Confirm understanding, etc

 

934

Help yourself

lAi zhong yEE la

Politeness with guests

 

935

I miss you

gnor gwa jo lAi

 

 

936

Movie

din ying

 

 

937

Photograph

ying sheurng

 

 

938

See you tomorrow

tun yut gun

 

 

939

Goodnight

zhao tau

 

 

940

South Pointing Chariot

zhI naam CEE

Ancient Chinese chariot with a mechanical wooden compass always pointing South. First used in warfare Circa 3000 BC…

Clue: Required inventing the first ever ‘Differential gearbox’ to make it work

指南車

 

 

20 for Toiletries and Cosmetics

 

941

Towel

mOu gan

 

毛巾

942

Toothpaste

ngaa gOu

 

牙膏

943

Shampoo

sAi tau soi

 

洗頭水

944

Conditioner (Hair)

wu faat sou

 

護髮素

945

Toothbrush

ngaa caat

 

牙刷

946

Lipstick

CEon g’oo

 

唇膏

947

Mascara

ngaan zit mO yik

 

眼睫毛液

948

Eye-liner (Pencil)

Ngan CiEn bat

 

眼線筆

949

Blusher

jien

Face Powder for ‘rosey cheeks’

950

Perfume

hO-eng soi

‘The Perfume River’ = Vietnam

香水

951

De-odorant

mmm hAi mAi

 

氣味

952

After-Shave

gU lung soi

Meaning: Eau de Cologne (For men)

古龍水

953

Anti-Perspirant

fong hon

 

防汗

954

Eye-lash tongues

gaau zhin

 

較剪

955

Style hair

din faat

 

電髮

956

Hairbrush

faat caat

 

髮刷

957

Comb

sO zhI

 

梳子

958

Moisturiser

yung foo gO

 

潤膚膏

959

Depiliate

t’yut mOu

 

脫毛

960

Face mask or Cleanser

hO zhong min geoi

 

好樣面具

961

Manicure

sau gaap

Foot massage parlours offer these services, and they are the best places to have ear problems looked at = Highly professional

修甲

962

Pedicure

 

Ear cleaning

963

Massage

gwat churng

Presume: Non-sexual, clothes kept on

骨場

964

Toner

song fu soi

Skin toner

爽膚水

965

Shaver

sOu paau

 

鬚鉋

 

 

5 for Low-Life

 

966

Crazy

t’chEE-szin

Used commonly in daily speaking. Not offensive in Cantonese = general expletive!

Do not use with Mandarin speakers!

Mandarin: ‘chEE-shing’ is a very bad swear word (like ‘The C word’ in English)

 

967

Hi low

hI lO

Chinese pun on ‘Hello’.

Generally take this to mean ‘stupid’, which you are not if you hear the difference.

The rebuke is ‘lAi yun hI lO, sO lO’.

It is nearly always meant as a joke, but can have a literal translation that most foreigners will find extremely offensive.

 

968

Guesture:

 

Closed fist; thumb poking between index and middle fingers.

UK = reversed ‘V’ sign.

USA = raised middle finger

 

969

A Chicken Sandwich

lo-urng laam gaap loi

Menage a trois

Lit: 2 boys around 1 girl

男夾女

970

‘One country; two systems’

yut gwor; leurng zhI

A massage parlor that offers both regular and sexual massage services. Same with some ‘Hairdressers’ and ‘street-restaurants’

一國兩制

 

 

10 Important Words

 

971

Always

sueng yut

 

 

972

to Cook

jyU EE

 

 

973

Email or Use a Computer

EmAi-lOh!

Not a real word, but it works ever so well!

 

974

Forget

mmm gAi da

 

 

975

Music

yum ngok

 

 

976

New

sun

 

 

977

Present (gift)

lAi mut

 

 

978

Really?

jyun GEE

 

 

979

Very

fAi sheurng

 

 

980

Work

zhO yearh

 

 

 

 

Other Useful Words

 

981

English Name 1

ying maan meng

When said to a non-Cantonese person

英文名

982

English Name 2

ying yut meng

When said to a Cantonese person

英語名

983

Hawk, Peddle

dau sau

Begging is illegal in China - apparently.

Hawkers are not!

兜售

984

Traditional Chinese Medicine

zhong yi hok

 

中醫學

985

Home

O K

HK: ‘uk kAi’. Mandarin: ‘wu chE’

986

Robber

ko-eng dOu

 

強盜

987

Thief

siU tau

Alt: ‘caak zhI’ 賊仔. A burglar or thief

小偷

988

Wet Market

CEE churng

Fruit, vegetables, fish and meat (Still alive)

市場

989

Post Office

yaow guk

These places are usually a nightmare!

郵局

990

Security (Guard)

CE Q

Alt: ‘ging wAi’

警衛

991

Go for a Walk

San bO

 

 

992

Shopping

han gaI

 

 

993

Window shopping

cow mut

 

 

994

Flirt, look for a boy

kow zhI

 

 

995

Flirt, look for a girl

kow loi

 

 

996

Together

yut chaI

 

 

997

Have sex

zhao mmm goi

Many versions of this

 

998

To sleep

fun gao

Default phrase

 

999

Asleep

mmm GEE

Not common

 

1000

Wake up

sheurng jaw