should be 'sang' (like sang kancil). Means, to give birth to, or grow (for objects/growth/skin disease).

this is absolutely helpful! thanks man!

lei ye =/= lai ye

lei ye= period

lai ye= kena shit (got into something bad, misfortune etc etc)

no wonder lah! now i understand the entire sentence liao. that "shang" word instead of "sang" really messed up the second part of the sentence for me.. hahahaha...

@klboy89 leng zai, lei mou tong ngor sui kor yat gao char siew lah... ngor hou mou ku leh, mou jeng ngor chai leong lah... =)

hopefully i've managed to use mou ku and chai leong correctly... heheh...

the phrase you should really learn --> *** nia seng.

pak kai
siu kai
chau kai
kiu kai
kai tau
kai chung

siu hai
chau hai
ching hai
diou hai
hai lat
hai yan

This post has been edited by randyhow: Jul 6 2012, 02:59 PM

one of the earliest words i was exposed to in school.. all the "chow wa"...

hok wai yeh yew 3 yat, hok hou yeh yew 3 leen =)

it's Tuna Singh ... different race...

Actually, 'chow wa' isn't really a correct term in Cantonese to describe 'profanity'. That phrase is localized direct translation from Hokkien. The correct term should be 'Chou hau'. (literally, translates to 'impolite mouth').

Eg:
kong chou hau. (Speaks profanity)

Mm hou kong chou hau. (Do not use profanities, or mind your language).

Hok kong chou hau, lor sam yat. (Takes 3 days to learn profanities).
Hok hou yeh, lor yat sai (Takes a lifetime to learn the good stuffs).

I wouldn't use 'yiu / yew' (the meaning's more towards 'want' rather than 'need/require'). Makes you sound like a horny pornstar. LOL.

'Lor' is a better substitute, since it will make it sound like 'will take'.

eg:
Lor see kan (takes time).

really.. i had this conversation with my colleague before and my assumption was:

chou hau = rude words
chow wa = profanity

but "yew" is more polite right? like when you said em yew instead of em moi....

its ngo lei yeh (i datang bulan)

U should learn the idioms instead...

36 keok, chau wai siong jiok - means RUN
Hoi yan chi Sam pat ho yau, fong yan chi Sam pat ho mou - we shouldn't have the heart of Harming ppl, we must have the heart to defend self from ppl.

nice!

but can you break it down into the literal meaning for me so that i understand the words as well?

36 keok = 36 legs
chau wai = all over
siong jiok = ??

Hoi yan chi Sam pat ho yau, fong yan chi Sam pat ho mou = crap, too deep for me liao... hahahaha.... please do break down of word meaning...

but yes, i love the cantonese idioms, but i only know one popular one: pan chu sek lou fu (pretend to be a pig but eat tiger)

chou hau = profanities. There are no rude words in Cantonese. Only informal words, formal words, profanities and rude people. :-)

"yew" is ok for different usage.

"Mm Yew" means 'don't want'.
"Mm ngoi" means 'don't love'.

Correct usage should be "Mm yew" if you want to express 'don't want'. Most Malaysians use "Mm ngoi" for 'don't want', but that's not very accurate. (Note that 'Moi' is actually derived from 'Mm ngoi' - fused to become 'Moi').
Note that this is for 'Don't want' - which itself, isn't really "polite" per se. If you want to decline something, you don't just say "don't want".

To properly decline, we usually say 'No thanks' in English. In Cantonese, it's the same lor. Just 'Mm yew' / 'Mm sai' then suffix it with a thank you (Mm Koi). It's actually quite complex. Tones and gestures also play important roles in expressing your message correctly.

Some other terms that might be useful.

"Mm chung yee" - don't like / don't love (different usage compared to Mm Ngoi)
"Mm kou heng" - displeased / not happy.
"Mm chung yew" - Not important
"Mm hou" - Not good / Don't.
"Mm phar" - Not scared
"Mm lou sat" - Not honest / dishonest
"Mm ***" (profanity) - Ignore / tidak layan
"Mm choi" (proper) - Ignore / tidak layan
"Mm koi" - please / excuse / conveying thanks
"Mm hou yee see" - Expressing embarrassment for causing an inconvenience. (not really an apology though).
"Mm sai" - 'No need' or can be used as a short form for 'You're welcome' for a thank you expression.

kou heng and lou sat... cantik... 2 new words unlocked! =)

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Added on July 6, 2012, 4:48 pmwhat's "lor sor"?

This post has been edited by lostasylum: Jul 6 2012, 04:48 PM

I think you should learn your Cantonese idioms properly before you teach others as "Tai geh mm hou, gao waai sai".

It should be "(36)sam sup luk gai, jau wai siong chaak". This idiom is from Sun Tzu Art of War 36th Strategies. It means of the Thirty-Six Strategies, fleeing is the best or if all else fails, retreat and fight another day.

(1) sam sup luk -36th
(2) gai - to calculate or to plan
(3) jau -run
(4) wai - to be
(5) siong -up/upper
(6) chaak - policy/scheme

Some Cantonese idioms can be funny and unexplainable. Take for example:-
"Lei ngaak ngor sat tao goh mm sik lat jiu jiong" - You trying to fool me into believing something which is not true.
(1)Lei - you
(2)ngaak - fool/cheat
(3)ngor -me
(4)sat tao goh - knee
(5)mm sik - refuse to eat
(6)lat jiu jiong - chilli paste

"Tam si dou mm tau sik" - He is an honest person.
(1)tam - carry
(2)si - feces
(3)dou - (used for emphasis) even
(4)mm tau sik - won't steal to eat

"Kum yat kong tung wah, kong chu kum doh sin, ming tin joi phui puun nei siu tham kong tung wah".

lor sor = nag; talk too much.

should learn more idioms la... sometimes a bit hard to understand !

My keliks like to use 'em you'. Not 'em wui' ka?

What is the different?