Social:Colloquial Cantonese in Hong Kong

Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macao. As part of the larger group of Chinese varieties, Colloquial Cantonese in Hong Kong is a special system of spoken language used by locals in Hong Kong. Hong Kong-style colloquial Cantonese has evolved from the different cultural backgrounds from Guangdong province and Macao.

Colloquial Cantonese has also been widely used on the Internet since the late 20th century. Thanks to the technological advancements, speakers can communicate with each other. The conversation style of online internet users has become more casual; as a result, more Hongkongers tend to simplify their conversation in the internet because of their focus on efficiency. This ultimately gives rise to the use of the unique internet conversation style in Hong Kong.

The origin of Cantonese can be traced back from Tang Dynasty to the An Lushan Revolt that made Cantonese a notable language. But what officially distinguished Hong Kong-style colloquial Cantonese came during the British colonial period: managed by the British government, Hong Kong was greatly influenced by the Western culture. English became the second official language. Blending Chinese culture with western culture, hybrid language became prevalent. The emergence of English in Chinese society contributed to the evolution of colloquial Cantonese.

Usage

Daily Conversation

The expressions and wordings in colloquial Cantonese are unique with various cultural implications in which the younger generation might have never gotten in touch with. Following are some of the examples:

Table of Colloquial Cantonese Expressions

Colloquial Cantonese Expressions(pronunciation)	Textual Meaning	Literary Meaning	Cultural Implication
離譜 (Lei4 pou2) Example: 佢遲咗成粒鐘，真係離晒大譜! English: He is late for an hour. He is really irresponsible!	diverge from the score	irresponsible/ illogical	These two expressions are about Cantonese music. If singers are not following the score or the melody, they will be scolded as Lei4Pou2. It turns out to be the expression rebuking for people that are not making any sense in doing something. The second expression originated from the timing of Cantonese Opera which is called Baan2. If the singer does not follow the beat, he must be doing wrongly. The meaning nowadays is derived from mistake made by singers in Cantonese music.
撞板 (Johng3 baan2) Example: 成日都咁衝動，抵佢今次撞板。 English: He is always so impulsive, no wonder he runs into trouble this time.	to beat time in incompatibility	make mistakes/run into trouble	refer to above implication
串／寸(Chyun3) Example: 你洗唔洗咁串呀! English: You are so rude!	to string/ inch	disgustingly bad attitude/ being rude	This word is originated from pictograph. There are two different interpretation about the history of this word. As pictograph in ancient Chinese, “Chyun3” means to string two circles together. Besides, when a police handcuff a criminal, we would also call this as “Chyun3” him to the police station. Despite that, some people had developed aversion to the rude behaviour of the police. The word “Chyun3” is eventually used as a derogatory adjective to describe someone who is rude and mean. The second story is about the old expression of the word “Chyun1”, which means village textually. “Chyun1” contains sense of humiliation towards others. Simultaneously, “Chyun1” and “Chyun3” have same pronunciation but different tones. Therefore, the word “Chyun3” nowadays is transformed from the above old expression.
是但 (Sih3 daahn3) Example: A: 你想去邊度食飯？ B: 是但啦! English: A: Where do you want to go for meal? B: Anything will do!	Sih3 :Is/Yes; Daahn3: But	whatever/anything will do	There is a special expressing way in Cantonese. We used to exclude some words in a phrase, but the key meaning is actually the words that we omitted. “Sih3 daahn3” is originated from the phrase ”Si3-mouh4-geih3-daahn3” 肆無忌憚(i.e. disregard of the constraints). We excluded the term “mouh4geih3” 無忌(anything will do). Therefore, when we are saying “Sih3 daahn3” what we actually mean is “mouh4geih3” : anything will do.
冬瓜豆腐(Dung1 Gwa1 Dauh2 Fuh3) Example: 你有乜冬瓜豆腐，我會好傷心㗎! English: I would be very sad if you are dead.	Dung1Gwa1:winter melon ; Dauh2 Fuh3: Tofu	to die/accident	Chinese people are used to avoid the word “sei2” (to die/death) in daily conversation. The circumstances are similar in Hong Kong. Hence, we usually use “Dung1 Gwa1 Dauh2 Fuh3” to replace this word. Winter melon and Tofu are used as metaphor to represent death is ascribed to the custom of bringing these food for the dead.

• adapted from Interesting Cantonese Colloquial Expressions

Internet Conversation

Abbreviation

Hong Kong people emphasize on efficiency and speed. This habit occurs in their way of speaking as well, therefore abbreviations are commonly used in both daily and internet conversation.

It is typical for Hong Kong people to shorten some terms which are commonly use. There are some of the examples:

Table of Abbreviation

Original term	Abbreviated term	Explanation
7-Eleven (7-11)	Se-fun(音:些粉)/ Chat1 Jai2(七仔） Example: 去些粉/七仔買野飲先 English : Let’s go 7-Eleven (Se-fun 些粉) to buy some drinks.	Se-fun combines the sounds of “Se” from seven and “fun” from eleven./ “Chat1” is the Chinese word of seven and “Jai2” is son or boy
Take Away(外賣)	Haang4 Gai1(行街) (literal: walk on the street) Example: 魚蛋粉行街! English: Fish Ball Noodles for take-away! (Haang4 Gai1 行街)	This abbreviation is often used in Cha Chaan Teng(茶餐廳:Hong Kong-style Tea house) when the waiter is telling the chefs to pack a take-away.
The sounds produced during conversations. There is no such word in English. Meaning similar to “yea”.(嗯嗯)	55 (used in internet conversation) Example: 甲: 你今日要番學? 乙:55 English: A: Do you need to attend school today? B:Yea.(55)	Imitating the sounds of the Chinese expression “ng ng” (嗯嗯) that means to agree or understand someone.
Post (發表／張貼)	po Example: 我po左相 English: I posted (po) a photo.	Because of convenience, “st” would be omitted from the word post. We would also say “po唔po好?” (i.e. Should I post it or not?) in a question.
Final Fantasy(最後的幻想)	ff Example: 甲: 我對象望住我啊! 乙: 你ff下好啦! English: A: My crush is looking at me! B: This is only imaginary (ff).	“Final Fantasy” is the name of the popular video game in Japan. It carries the meaning of imagination. It was originally involved in the conversation between the netizens in the forum. Due to convenience, people would simply say “ff” to describe a person who says something that is only his imagination.
Overtime(超時工作)	OT Example: 今晚又OT English: I need to work overtime (OT) tonight again.	This term means that to work overtime. This situation is very common for Hong Kong people therefore in this sense this term is abbreviated. It is normally used as “Hoi1 OT” (開OT) to describe the action of working overtime.

Martian Language

Martian Language is a kind of language that is commonly used in the internet. The younger generations tend to invent new words to replace the original expression. Since the words are of different structures and grammars when comparing to the Chinese or English words that we usually see, this kind of language is dubbed as "Martian Language." The term also carries the connotation that people of Earth won't understand them. There may be some words that have similar pronunciations but fewer strokes or informal loan words which are from English or Putonghua.

Similar pronunciation

Table of Similar pronunciation

Original term	Martian Language	Explanation
Cantonese: 支持(zi1 ci4) English: Support	十卜(sap6 buk1) Example: 我會十卜你! English: I will support (十卜sap6 buk1) you.	There is no such term--"十卜" in Chinese language. Since these two Chinese words are pronounced similar as the English word—support, many Hong Kong people would like to use this term to cheer somebody up.
Cantonese: 唔知(ng4 zi1) English: do not know	5G (ng5 G) Example: 甲: 你知唔知邊個係比德? 乙: 我5G English: A: Do you know who is Peter? B: I don’t know (5G).	The “5” here is not pronounced as “five” but in Cantonese “ng5”, which is the Chinese word “五" (ng5). Since “五"(ng5) and “唔" (ng4), “知" (zi1) and “G” are having similar pronunciations, we used 5G to replace the Cantonese term”唔知, which carries the meaning of don’t know.
Cantonese:鍾意(zung1 ji3) English: Like	中2 (zung3 ji6) Example: 我好中2佢呀! English: I like (中2 zung3 ji6) him so much!	Due to similar pronunciation, the “2” here is pronounced as the Chinese “二" (ji6) rather than “two”. Combining this number with the Chinese character "中" (zung3), it carries similar pronunciation as “鍾意”(zung1 ji3) but the structure of this martian language term is much simpler.
Cantonese:師奶(si1 naai1) English: Housewife	C9 Example: 你著到成個C9咁 English: You dress like a housewife(C9).	The word C9 should be pronounced in English “C nine”, which is very similar to Cantonese si1 naai1. It is an easier form of typing the word “師奶” without changing the meaning in Cantonese. The two characters are already on the keyboard so it is much simpler to type.

Breaking down words

Netizens will break down the structure of one single Chinese character and extend it into two characters. As the Chinese characters are made up with many small parts such as radicals, therefore they can be broken down into the separate parts and typed in this way. Following are some examples:

Table of Breaking Down Words

Original term	Martian Language
Cantonese: 呀 English: Ah (a sigh language)	口 牙
Cantonese: 好 English: good/ okay	女 子
Cantonese: 儲 English: Save	亻言者
Cantonese: 佢好靚！ English: She is pretty	亻巨女子青見！

Self-created emoticons

Self-created emoticon is commonly used in the internet for the netizens to better express their feelings or emotion without typing any sensible characters.

The clown emoji inpute code in Hong Kong Golden Forum

Internet users combine various symbols from the keyboard (@#$%^&*>/< etc.) to create emoticons. One of the most popular emoticon used by Hongkongers. It was originated from the emoji input code (a crown emoji will shown automatically after typing these characters) in the Hong Kong Golden Forum. This is an ironic emoticon as the central meaning of this emoji is to deride a person who did something stupid.

Informal Cantonese Phonetic Transcription

Due to convenience, internet or social media users like to type Cantonese pinyin which are not formalized rather than typing exactly Chinese characters. We need to memorise Chinese input method which is generally quite complex for beginners if they want to type any Chinese words on the internet. Therefore, this unformalized Cantonese pinyin input method is especially prevalent in Hong Kong where citizens are emphasize on efficiency. Some even turn this into a habit as typing this kind of unformalized pinyin is much simpler and convenient. The following examples contrast between the formal Cantonese pinyin and the informal Cantonese Phonetic Transcription :

Table of Informal Cantonese Phonetic Transcription

Original Written Wording	Formal Cantonese Pinyin	Informal Cantonese Phonetic Transcription
Chinese: 我 English: Me/I	Ngo5	ngo
Chinese: 要 English: Need	Jiu3	yiu
Chinese: 好 English: Good	Hou2	Ho
Chinese: 有 English: Have	Jau5	yau
Chinese: 你好啊! English: Hello!	Nei5 Hou2 Aa1	Nei ho ar
Chinese: 你鐘唔鐘意我? English: Do you like me?	Nei5 Zung1 M4 Zung1 Ji3 Ngo5	Nei chung ng chung yi ngo ?
Chinese: 我唔知嫁! English: I don’t know!	Ngo5 M4 Zi1 Gaa3	Ngo ng g ga!
Chinese: 佢地都傻傻地。 English: They are nonsense.	Keoi5 Dei6 Dou1 So4 So4 Dei6	Kui dei do sor sor dei
Chinese: 痴左線咩? English: You nuts?	Ci1 Zo2 Sin3 Me1	Chi jor sin mea?
Chinese: 少少咁啦! English: Just a bit!	Siu2 Siu2 Gam2 Laa1	Siu siu gum la!
Chinese: 唔緊要! English: It’s okay!	M4 Gan2 Jiu3	Ng gun yiu!

Criticism

Decrease in Language Proficiency

Some criticise the prolonged use of colloquial Cantonese leads to a drop in language proficiency. Using this new language frequently often results in a shrink in vocabulary, poor mastery in normative grammar and ultimately a significant loss in writing and speaking skills. Besides, including colloquial Cantonese in formal writings and speeches are more likely to create a disrespectful and unprofessional image to the audience.

Misunderstanding and Problematic Communication

Colloquial expressions are derived from social trends. There will be some people who cannot keep up with these trends, especially new immigrants, middle age and the elderly. Since they have possibly failed to make accurate interpretations, confusion often occurs. For instances, many post 80s employees are adapted to use trendy words like “orz” ( An emoticon of a person pounding his head on the floor in which “O”, “R”, “Z” represent the head, arms and legs respectively. It symbolizes admiration with the utmost sincerity) and “神級” ( textual meaning: god level ; literal meaning: an incredibly great mastery in certain things) when they are communicating with the senior staffs but the seniors misunderstand this as an act of disrespect. The use of colloquial Cantonese does not necessarily bring convenience, but rather lead to ineffective communication. Misunderstanding of trendy expression will impose communication barrier. As a result, extra time is needed for explanation and lowering the communication efficiency and effectiveness.

Destruction of the Normative Language and Lost of the Original Meaning of the Words

In Chinese, each character, which has its own meaning and history, are mostly monosyllabic. While using colloquial Cantonese, new terms or words instead of original words are used due to ease and convenience . As a matter of fact, the abbreviations, martian languages and the informal Cantonese phonetic transcriptions do not hold any literal meaning on the characters themselves. For example, the word “靚" is compound ideographs and phono-semantic compound characters that comes from “a young lady uses blue color painting for making up”, which is why this word means “beautiful” People use “leng” and "令” to replace “靚". The meaning of “beautiful” does not exist in “Leng” and "令” literally. Therefore, the use of colloquial Cantonese changes the meaning of the word and there is a lost of the original meaning of the words.

See also

• Cantonese
• Cantonese Pinyin
• Hong Kong Cantonese
• Written Cantonese
• Yue Chinese