abalone

en-noun

abalone (usually uncountable, plural abalones)

abalones (plural)
avalone (alternative obsolete)

From American Spanish abulón, from an indigenous language of the Monterey Bay area such as Rumsen/Southern Ohlone aūlun (“red abalone”)

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles

Oxford University Press
w:Oxford University Press

(Canada, US, Australia, Hong Kong) An edible univalve mollusc of the genus Haliotis, having a shell lined with mother-of-pearl.

(Canada, US, Australia, Hong Kong) The meat of the aforementioned mollusc.


alphabet

From Middle English alphabete, borrowed from Classical Latin alphabētum, from Ancient Greek ἀλφάβητος (alphábētos), from ἄλφα (álpha) and βῆτα (bêta), the names of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, Α (A) and Β (B), lowercase forms α and β. The Greek names derived from aleph, the name of the Phoenician letter 𐤀 (ʾ, “ox”) and beth, the name of the letter 𐤁 (b, “house”), so called because they were pictograms of those objects, having developed from the Egyptian hieroglyphs F1 (𓃾) and pr (𓉐).
 Doublet of alfabeto.

We realize the fact that the alphabet A has been used in many world scripts as a vowel with the others AEIOU.

2002, Eugene E. Dike, African myth of creation in African form of writing, Monsenstein und Vannerdat, →ISBN, page 30:

There are 26 alphabets in English.

2005, Satinder Bal Gupta, Comprehensive Discrete Mathematics & Structures, Laxmi Publications, page 237:

Tamil got 247 alphabets you know. Got two R-eh, got three L, got two N you know.

2007, Elangovan, P, Singapore, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 83:

(India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia) An individual letter of an alphabet; an alphabetic character.


AA

AA (countable and uncountable, plural AAs)

(Hong Kong) Initialism of agent assistant; an assistant of a real estate agent.


first

From Middle English first, furst, ferst, fyrst, from Old English fyrest, from Proto-West Germanic *furist, from Proto-Germanic *furistaz (“foremost, first”), superlative of Proto-Germanic *fur, *fura, *furi (“before”), from Proto-Indo-European *per-, *pero- (“forward, beyond, around”), equivalent to fore + -est.
Cognate with North Frisian foarste (“first”), Dutch voorste (“foremost, first”), German Fürst (“chief, prince”, literally “first (born)”), Swedish först (“first”), Norwegian Nynorsk fyrst (“first”), Icelandic fyrstur (“first”).
Other cognates include Sanskrit पूर्व (pūrva, “first”) and Russian первый (pervyj).

cog

Ist (alternative)
I (alternative)
I. (alternative)
firste (alternative archaic)
fyrst (alternative obsolete)
fyrste (alternative obsolete)

(Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, nonstandard) Now.


fuck

en-verb

fuck (third-person singular simple present fucks, present participle fucking, simple past and past participle fucked)

fucks (present singular third-person)
fucking (participle present)
fucked (participle past)
fucked (past)
fuck (infinitive)
fuck (first-person present singular)
fucked (first-person past singular)
fuck (present second-person singular)
fuckest (archaic present second-person singular)
fucked (past second-person singular)
fuckedst (archaic past second-person singular)
fucks (present singular third-person)
fucketh (archaic present singular third-person)
fucked (past singular third-person)
fuck (plural present)
fucked (past plural)
fuck (present subjunctive)
fucked (past subjunctive)
fuck (imperative present)
fucking (participle present)
fucked (participle past)
f##k (alternative)
f#$k (alternative)
f#%k (alternative)
f#*k (alternative)
f*** (alternative)
f**k (alternative)
f*ck (alternative)
f--k (alternative)
fck (alternative)
fk (alternative)
fsck (alternative)
fu#k (alternative)
fu$k (alternative)
fu*k (alternative)
fu-k (alternative)
fu...k (alternative)
fu©k (alternative)
fvck (alternative)
f—k (alternative)
f&!k (alternative)
f...k (alternative)
f…k (alternative)
fu…k (alternative)
fuxk (alternative)
F-bomb (alternative euphemistic)
F-word (alternative euphemistic)
fuk (alternative)
fuq (alternative)
phuck (alternative)
uckfay (alternative)

Flen flyys
Slate.com
University of Minnesota Press

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ-
Proto-Germanic *fukkōną
Old English *fuccian
Middle English *fukken
English fuck
From Middle English *fukken, probably of Germanic origin: either from Old English *fuccian or Old Norse *fukka, both from Proto-Germanic *fukkōną, from Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- (“to strike, punch, stab”). Compare windfucker and its debated etymology.
Possibly attested in a 772 C.E. charter that mentions a place called Fuccerham, which may mean "ham (“home”) of the fucker" or "hamm (“pasture”) of the fucker"; a John le Fucker in a record from 1278 may just be a variant of Fulcher; compare Fucher, Foker, etc. The earliest unambiguous use of the word in a clearly sexual context, in any stage of English, appears to be in court documents from Cheshire, England, which mention a man called Roger Fuckebythenavele (possibly tongue-in-cheek or directly suggestive of a depraved sexual act) on 8 December 1310. It was first listed in a dictionary in 1598. Scots fuk or fuck is attested slightly earlier, probably reinforcing the Northern Germanic/Scandinavian origin theory. From 1500 onward, the word has been in continual use, superseding jape and sard and largely displacing swive. See windfucker and fuckwind for more information.
A range of folk-etymological backronyms, such as "fornication under consent of the king" and "for unlawful carnal knowledge", are all demonstrably false.
Sense 10 from related sense feck.

der

The sergeant fucked me upside down.

(transitive, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, military slang) To scold.


astronaut

/ˈæstɹəˌnɔːt/

/ˈæstɹəˌnɔt/

/ˈæstɹəˌnɑt/

From astro- + -naut. Coined from Ancient Greek ἄστρον (ástron, “star”) and ναύτης (naútēs, “sailor”).

astronout

member of the crew of a spaceship or other spacecraft, or someone trained for that purpose — see also cosmonaut

(Hong Kong) A person (typically man) working abroad away from their family.


grape

en-verb

grape (third-person singular simple present grapes, present participle graping, simple past and past participle graped)

grapes (present singular third-person)
graping (participle present)
graped (participle past)
graped (past)

From Middle English grape, from Old French grape, grappe, crape (“cluster of fruit or flowers, bunch of grapes”), from graper, craper (“to pick grapes”, literally “to hook”), of Germanic origin, from Frankish *krappō (“hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *greb- (“hook”), *gremb- (“crooked, uneven”), from *ger- (“to turn, bend, twist”). Cognate with Middle Dutch krappe (“hook”), Old High German krapfo (“hook”) (whence German Krapfen (“Berliner doughnut”). Doublet of grappa. More at cramp.

der

(Hong Kong) To envy (derived from "sour grapes" idiom).


toilet

→ Japanese: トイレット, トイレ

Krio: tɔylɛt

Tok Pisin: toilet

From Middle French toilette, diminutive of toile (“cloth”), from their use to protect clothing while shaving or arranging hair. From its use as a private room, toilet came to refer euphemistically to lavatories and then to its fixtures, beginning in the United States in the late 19th century.

ашьашьма

room used for urination and defecation — see also bathroom, men's room, ladies' room, outhouse, portable toilet, latrine, shitter

toilet

fixture used for urination and defecation — see also flush toilet, squat toilet, chemical toilet, urinal, latrine

Appendix:Roget MICRA thesaurus/Class II § 191. Receptacle

Sorry, I was in the toilet.

He would hit her when she cried and, if this did not work, would lock her in the toilet for hours on end.

2002, Digby Tantam, Psychotherapy and Counselling in Practice: A Narrative Framework, page 122:

He wet his thumb with saliva pressing on the tongue, ran it up and down faster over the letter 'I' of 'TOILET', the 'LADIES TOILET' was transformed into 'LADIES TO LET' in no time.

2014, C.S. Walter, Abandoned Bridges, pp. 105 f.:

(UK, Australia, Hong Kong) A room, enclosed area or single-purpose building containing a fixture or fixtures used for urination and defecation; a bathroom or water closet.

(New Zealand) A small secondary lavatory having a fixture used for urination and defecation and sink but no bathtub or shower.


SP

en-noun

SP (countable and uncountable, plural SPs)

SPs (plural)
S.P. (alternative)
S. P. (alternative)


NB

(Hong Kong) Initialism of Narcotics Bureau.


house

house (countable and uncountable, plural houses or (dialectal) housen or (chiefly humorous) hice)

houses (plural)
housen (dialectal plural)
hice (humorous plural)
howse (alternative obsolete)

Chinese Pidgin English: houso

Nigerian Pidgin: haus

Tok Pisin: haus

Sranan Tongo: oso
→ Dutch: osso

→ Cantonese: house (hau¹ si²)

→ Japanese: ハウス (hausu)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH-der.?
Proto-Germanic *hūsą
Proto-West Germanic *hūs
Old English hūs
Middle English hous
English house
From Middle English hous, hus, from Old English hūs (“dwelling, shelter, house”), from Proto-West Germanic *hūs, from Proto-Germanic *hūsą, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kews-, from *(s)kewH- (“to cover, hide”).
See also Scots hoose, West Frisian hûs, Dutch huis, German Haus, German Low German Huus, Danish hus, Faroese hús, Icelandic hús, Norwegian Bokmål hus, Norwegian Nynorsk hus and Swedish hus.
Eclipsed non-native Middle English meson, measoun (“house”), borrowed from Old French maison (“house”). More at hose. The uncommon plural form housen is from Middle English husen, housen. (The Old English nominative plural was simply hūs.)

huis

debating chamber for government politicians

a house divided against itself cannot stand

it takes a heap of living to make a house a home

it takes a heap o' livin' to make a house a home

it takes a lot of living to make a house a home

the call is coming from inside the house

use the master's tools to dismantle the master's house

A structure built or serving as an abode of human beings.

(Hong Kong, only used in names) An apartment building within a public housing estate.


civilisation

en-noun

civilisation (countable and uncountable, plural civilisations)

Borrowed from French civilisation, equivalent to civilise + -ation or civil + -isation.

From Keighley onwards we had obviously returned to civilisation, for the surrounding country was now studded with the sodium street lights of suburbia and a thickening industrial haze was blotting out the moon.

1960 January, G. Freeman Allen, “"Condor"—British Railways' fastest freight train”, in Trains Illustrated, page 48:

UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong, and Commonwealth spelling of civilization.


paper

paper (countable and uncountable, plural papers)

Tok Pisin: pepa
→ Rotokas: pepa

→ Dutch: paper

→ Eastern Arrernte: pipe

→ Esperanto: papero
Ido: papero

→ Hawaiian: pepa

→ Japanese: ペーパー (pēpā)

→ Malayalam: പേപ്പർ (pēppaṟ)

→ Maori: pepa

→ Marshallese: peba

→ Mokilese: peipa

→ Niuean: pepa

→ Scottish Gaelic: pàipear

→ Southern Ndebele: iphepha

→ Spanish: paper

→ Swazi: líphepha

→ Xhosa: iphepha

→ Yoruba: bébà, pépà

→ Zulu: iphepha

From Middle English paper, from Anglo-Norman paper, from Old Catalan paper, borrowed from Latin papȳrus (and given the Catalan suffix -er), from Ancient Greek πάπυρος (pápuros).

(British, Hong Kong) A set of examination questions to be answered at one session.


help

en-verb

help (third-person singular simple present helps, present participle helping, simple past helped or (archaic) holp, past participle helped or (archaic) holpen)

helps (present singular third-person)
helping (participle present)
helped (past)
holp (archaic past)
helped (participle past)
holpen (archaic participle past)
help (infinitive)
help (first-person present singular)
helped (first-person past singular)
holp (archaic first-person past singular)
help (present second-person singular)
helpest (archaic present second-person singular)
helped (past second-person singular)
helpedst (archaic past second-person singular)
holp (archaic past second-person singular)
helps (present singular third-person)
helpeth (archaic present singular third-person)
helped (past singular third-person)
holp (archaic past singular third-person)
help (plural present)
helped (past plural)
holp (archaic past plural)
help (present subjunctive)
helped (past subjunctive)
holp (archaic past subjunctive)
help (imperative present)
helping (participle present)
helped (participle past)
holpen (archaic participle past)

From Middle English helpen, from Old English helpan (“to help, aid, assist, benefit, relieve, cure”), from Proto-West Germanic *helpan, Proto-Germanic *helpaną (“to help”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱelb-, *ḱelp- (“to help”).
Cognate with West Frisian helpe (“to help”), Dutch helpen (“to help”), Low German helpen, hölpen (“to help”), German helfen (“to help”), Danish hjælpe (“to help”), Norwegian hjelpe (“to help”), Lithuanian šelpti (“to help, support”).

inh

Southern US, African-American Vernacular, dated

a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

Can you help me buy some groceries?

(Hong Kong, Singapore) To do something on the behalf of someone.


locust

From Middle English locuste, locust, from Anglo-Norman locuste, Middle French locuste, and their source, Latin locusta (“locust, crustacean, lobster”). Doublet of langouste.
The tree sense, originally referring to the carob (compare locust bean), is based on the resemblance of the trees' beanlike seed pods to the insect and is likely a semantic loan from Ancient Greek ἀκρίς (akrís).
The sense in "Mainlander" is a semantic loan from Cantonese 蝗蟲 /蝗虫 (wong4 cung4), also meaning "locust".

sl

(Hong Kong, derogatory, offensive, ethnic slur) A Mainlander.


la

From Cantonese 啦 (laa¹). Doublet of lah.

Sleep la!

Eat shit la you!

Placed at the end of a sentence in imperatives making it sound more like a request than an order.


II

“When I came here eight years ago, it was easy to spot an II (illegal immigrant),” one British official here said. “They came across in dark navy clothes. Now, they come in designer T-shirts and Levis, and it’s hard to tell them from residents of Hong Kong.”

1987 April 11, Jim Mann, “Border Net Porous : Hong Kong: Old Magnet for Chinese”, in Los Angeles Times:

Hong Kong can also follow the international trend of phasing out the rule that a child born by an II will automatically be granted citizenship of the place where he or she is born, in order to eradicate the problems of stowaways and II children.

1995 February 22, parliamentary debates (Hong Kong Legislative Council), page 2228:

The spokesman urged the Mainlanders not to put their lives at risk because hiding underneath a goods vehicle is very dangerous. He also reiterated that all IIs caught will be repatriated immediately, and their aidors and abettors prosecuted accordingly.

1999 March 2, “Truck Driver Arrested for Arranging IIs to Hong Kong”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

Conveying a wrong message that an II could not be repatriated once he succeeded in seeking legal aid for court proceedings on his ROA claim might result in a massive influx of IIs and large number of overstayers.

2000 January 18, parliamentary debates (Hong Kong Legislative Council), page 5:

When there is sudden rustling of grasses and the weather is calm, you may guess that there must be something moving in the grass patch but ...What is it? A bird? A dog? An II (Illegal Immigrant)? Or a porcupine?

2002 December 10, David Poon, “Ting Kok: a conservation issue”, in Porcupine, page 19:

illegal immigrant
illegal immigrant#English

(Hong Kong) Initialism of illegal immigrant.


inch

Semantic loan from Cantonese 寸 (cyun³, “inch”), which is an alternative form of 串 (cyun³, “cocky; to provoke; etc.”).

I still remember Donald Duck sit next to him after NG dog being 'Done'd to F.2 building... he is still very Inch in Year 1983-4 teaching me RS

1994 May 29, Albert Ng, soc.culture.hongkong (Usenet):

The service was professional but very "inch". We were served by a Cantonese speaking local. The waiter asked if we wanted water without telling us it costs $75 for just water!!

(Hong Kong, colloquial) cocky and cheeky


inch

en-verb

inch (third-person singular simple present inches, present participle inching, simple past and past participle inched)

inches (present singular third-person)
inching (participle present)
inched (participle past)
inched (past)

Sorry for changing the intention of the post last time; it was for nothing but the personal joy and satisfaction of "inch"-ing the person who criticized my writing while he/she can't even write. (no hard feelings, alright?!) I'd avoid that in the future. I'll try to make this a constructive discussion and be as objective as possible.

1994 March 4, tp...@vmsb.is.csupomona.edu, soc.culture.hongkong.entertainment (Usenet):

(Hong Kong, colloquial) to burn (to insult); to speak in a cocky and cheeky manner


Christianity

en-proper noun

Christianity (usually uncountable, plural Christianities)

Christianities (plural)
christianity (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English Cristiente, Cristente, borrowed from Old French crestienté, from Medieval Latin stem of Chrīstiānitās, from Latin christianus, Christianus, from Ancient Greek Χριστιανός (Khristianós), from Χριστός (Khristós, “Christ, anointed one”) + Latin -anus (“suffix for of, related to”) + one more suffix borrowed from Latin "ity" makes the final Christian + -ity. The term was respelled in the early modern English period to more closely reflect its Latin etymon.

(Hong Kong, Philippines) Protestantism (in contrast to Catholicism)


chop

en-verb

chop (third-person singular simple present chops, present participle chopping, simple past and past participle chopped)

chops (present singular third-person)
chopping (participle present)
chopped (participle past)
chopped (past)

From Middle English choppen, chappen (“to chop”), of uncertain origin, possibly onomatopoeic, or a variant of chap (“to become cracked”).
Cognate with Scots chap (“to chop”). Compare also Saterland Frisian kappe, kapje (“to hack; chop; lop off”), Dutch kappen (“to chop, cut, hew”), German Low German kappen (“to cut off; clip”), German kappen (“to cut; clip”), German dialectal chapfen, kchapfen (“to chop into small pieces”), Albanian copë (“piece, chunk”), Old English *ċippian (in forċippian (“to cut off”)). Perhaps related to chip.

cog

A man had chopped a Sanitary Department coolie to death after an argument about money, Supreme Court was told today.


chop

→ Cantonese: chop (cop1)

→ Macanese: chop

Borrowed from Hindi छाप (chāp, “stamp”). Closely related to the similarly descended Malay word cap, which likely reinforced the English usage within the Malay world.

(colloquial, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei) A stamp or seal; a mark, imprint or impression on a document (or other object or material) made by stamping or sealing a design with ink or wax, respectively, or by other methods.


chop

(transitive, colloquial, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei) To stamp or seal (a document); to mark, impress or otherwise place a design or symbol on paper or other material, usually, but not necessarily, to indicate authenticity.


fan

From Cantonese 分. Doublet of fen and hoon.

Audio (Southern England)

1 chek (foot) = 14⅝ English inches divided into 10 tsün (inches) and each tsün into ten fan or tenths.

1939, chapter XI, in Colonial Reports - Annual Issues, page 37:

(Hong Kong, dated) A unit of length, equivalent to 0.1 tsun (0.01 chek), or 0.00371475 metres.


mug

→ French: mug → French: meugue

→ Finnish: muki

→ Maltese: magg

→ Swedish: mugg

→ Welsh: mẁg, mỳg

Early 16th century (originally Scots and northern English, denoting "earthenware, pot, jug"), of unknown origin, perhaps from North Germanic (compare Swedish mugg (“mug, jug”), Norwegian mugge (“pitcher, open can for warm drinks”), Danish mugge), or Low German mokke, mukke (“mug”), German Low German Muck (“drinking cup”), Dutch mok (“mug”), also of unknown origin. Perhaps related to Old English muga (“stack”) and Old Norse múgr (“mass, heap (of corn)”). Compare also Middle English mug, mog (“a measure of salt”).

(UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, derogatory, slang) A stupid or contemptible person.


mug

en-verb

mug (third-person singular simple present mugs, present participle mugging, simple past and past participle mugged)

mugs (present singular third-person)
mugging (participle present)
mugged (participle past)
mugged (past)

(UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, slang) To learn or review a subject as much as possible in a short time; cram.


ordinance

ordinances (plural)
ordinaunce (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English ordinaunce (ca. 1300), from Old French ordenance (“decree, command”) (modern French ordonnance), from Medieval Latin ordinantia, from ordinans, the present participle of ordino (“put in order”) (whence ordain). Doublet of ordonnance.

der

An edict or decree, authoritative order.

(Hong Kong) A law enacted by the Hong Kong Legislative Council.


turnip

→ German: Turnip

→ Irish: tornapa

→ Russian: турнепс (turneps)

From Middle English turnepe, probably from turn + Middle English nepe, from Old English nǣp, from Latin nāpus. The component turn may be due to the round shape of the plant as though turned on a lathe, or because it must be turned and twisted to be harvested. Cognate to neep. See also parsnip.

(Hong Kong) The white root of Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus, also known as a daikon.


auntie

Tok Pisin: anti

Torres Strait Creole: anti

→ Burmese: အန်တီ (anti)

⇒ Chinese: 安娣 (āndī)

→ Pennsylvania German: Aendi

→ Scottish Gaelic: antaidh

→ Yoruba: àǹtí


monitor

monitors (plural)
monitour (alternative)

desc

→ Thai: มอนิเตอร์ (mɔɔ-ní-dtəə)

→ Thai: มอนิเตอร์ (mɔɔ-ní-dtəə)

From Latin monitor (“warner”), from perfect passive participle monitus (“warning”), from verb monere (“to warn, admonish, remind”). Warship sense is from USS Monitor, the first ship of this type.

So, as she did not like the masters to be prying about the play-ground out of school, she chose from among the biggest and most trustworthy of her pupils five monitors, who had authority over the rest of the Boys, and kept the unruly ones in order.

1871, Henry William Pullen, The Fight at Dame Europa's School:

But it was not so—at least, not always—for though they fell out among themselves, they united their forces against the common enemy—the monitors!

1881, Talbot Baines Reed, chapter X, in The Fifth Form at St. Dominic's:

He learned that a monitor should assist the teachers in distributing worksheets, maintaining class discipline, helping classmates in need and so on.

(Can we date this quote?), Pearl Poon, Class Monitor Election, Hong Kong ICAC Comics:

(Hong Kong, Singapore, archaic in British) A student leader in a class.


Jap

Clipping of Japanese, attested as a noun since 1872, and adjectivally since 1878. Compare Nip (shortened from Nipponese).

(informal, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia) Clipping of Japanese.


mace

From Middle English mace, borrowed from Old French mace, mache, from Vulgar Latin *mattia, *mattea, matia, (compare Italian mazza, Spanish maza), probably from Proto-West Germanic *mattjō (“cutting tool, hoe”).

der

A long baton used by some drum majors to keep time and lead a marching band. If this baton is referred to as a mace, by convention it has a ceremonial often decorative head, which, if of metal, usually is hollow and sometimes intricately worked.


mace

en-verb

mace (third-person singular simple present maces, present participle macing, simple past and past participle maced)

maces (present singular third-person)
macing (participle present)
maced (participle past)
maced (past)

From the name of one brand of the spray, Mace. Pepper spray may be derived from cayenne pepper, but not from mace (etymology 2 above), which is a different spice; rather, it was named after the weapon (etymology 1).

When Reynaldo and Willie had burst into Larkey's drug store to confront him, the old man had maced Willie square in the eyes with an aerosol can of spermicidal birth-control foam.

1989, Carl Hiaasen, chapter 22, in Skin Tight, New York: Ballantine Books:

(informal) To spray a similar noxious chemical in defense or attack using an available hand-held device such as an aerosol spray can.


mace

Borrowed from Javanese [Term?] and Malay [Term?], meaning "a bean".

An old money of account in China equal to one tenth of a tael.


catty

catties (plural)
cattys (plural)
cattee (alternative)
kati (alternative)
katti (alternative obsolete)
katty (alternative obsolete)

From Malay kati, from Tamil கட்டி (kaṭṭi).

16 Mess, make a Tale, which here is 20 s. English, 5 Tale make a Bancal, a weight so called, and 20 Bancal make a Catty, another weight.

1699, Captain William Dampier, A new voyage round the world, Volume 1:

Transparent yellow pieces are the best; the price is from eight to fourteen dollars per catty, according to size and quality.

1847, Robert Montgomery Martin, China; Political, Commercial, and Social, volume 2, James Madden, page 124:

To limit team members' consumption, it issued food stamps to the villagers and allowed everyone to eat one catty of rice a day.

2009, Huaiyin Li, Village China Under Socialism and Reform: A Micro-History, 1948-2008, Stanford University Press, →ISBN, page 94:

A (unit of) weight used in China which is metricated in Mainland China as exactly 0.5 kg, and approximately 0.6 kg for other places.


rubbish

rubbish (third-person singular simple present rubbishes, present participle rubbishing, simple past and past participle rubbished)

rubbishes (present singular third-person)
rubbishing (participle present)
rubbished (participle past)
rubbished (past)

Inherited from Middle English robous (“rubbish, building rubble”), further origin uncertain; possibly from Anglo-Norman rubous, rubouse, rubbouse (“refuse, waste material; building rubble”), and compare Anglo-Latin rebbussa, robousa, robusium, robusum, rubisum, rubusa, rubusium (although the Anglo-Norman and Anglo-Latin words may be derived from the English word instead of the other way around, as there are no known Old French cognates of the word). The English word may be related to rubble, though the connection is unclear. Possibly derived ultimately from Old Norse rubba (“to huddle, crowd together, heap up", also possibly "to rub, scrape”), from Proto-Germanic *rubbōną (“to rub, scrape”). Compare Swedish rubba (“to move, displace, dislodge, upset”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

cog

Speaking at today's (Tuesday) press conference to announce details of the show, Chairman of the Steering Committee, Mr Cheng Chun-ping urged members of the public to sustain their keep clean efforts and to let the message of the campaign slogan -- "There is never any excuse to rubbish your home" stride across the new Millennium.

1999 December 1, Cheng Chun-ping, quotee, “Special TV programme to disseminate keep clean messages”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

In the 1970s there was a hugely successful campaign using the slogan: "You wouldn't rubbish your home. Australia's your home. Don't rubbish Australia." The adverts compared tossing table scraps on to the carpet with throwing food packaging from a car. It worked.

2007 March 8, Tika Viker-Bloss, “How to tackle the rising tide of litter in filthy Britain”, in The Guardian:

(transitive, Australia, Hong Kong) To litter.


morning star

en-noun

morning star (countable and uncountable, plural morning stars)

morning stars (plural)
morningstar (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-morning star.wav

From morning + star. Compare West Frisian moarnstjer, Dutch morgenster, German Morgenstern, Swedish morgonstjärna, Icelandic morgunstjarna. Application to Satan derives, like the corresponding sense of Lucifer (which see), from what is probably a misinterpretation of Isaiah 14:12 (NIV: "How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!").

2019, PlaysPH, "What is the official name of the crusty stuff we develop around our eyes during sleep? And what causes it?", Quora
We call it “morning star”. Funny name though. The real name is “eye crusts”.

(uncountable, Hong Kong, Philippines, uncommon) Sleep or rheum, particularly that which is discharged at the eyes during sleep.


helper

From Middle English helpere, from Old English *helpere, from Proto-West Germanic *helpārī (“helper”), equivalent to help + -er. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hälper (“helper”), West Frisian helper (“helper”), Dutch helper (“helper”), German Low German Helper (“helper”), German Helfer (“helper”), Danish hjælper (“helper”), Swedish hjälpare (“helper”), Icelandic hjálpar (“helper”).

(Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines) A person who does cleaning and cooking in a family home, or in a market; domestic employee.


oi

tlb

(UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, Commonwealth, usually impolite)

Variant of the interjection hoy with h-dropping in working class and Cockney speech; first recorded in the 1930s. Compare also unrelated Portuguese oi and Japanese おい (oi).

Oi, you with the red hat – what do you think you're doing?

Oi! Stop that!

Oi! This is new!


oi

A way for Oi musicians to avoid responsibility for acts of violence that were preceded by listening to Oi is the claim that what people do with their music is out of the control of the musicians themselves.

1997, David Schwarz, Listening subjects: music, psychoanalysis, culture:

Oi! is characterized by cleaner guitars and slower tempos than most punk music, and many Oi! songs feature sing-along, "soccer chant" choruses.

2012, Tiffini Travis, Perry Hardy, Skinheads: A Guide to an American Subculture:

(UK, sometimes capitalized) A working-class punk rock subgenre of the 1970s, sometimes associated with racism.


decoration

en-noun

decoration (countable and uncountable, plural decorations)

/ˌdɛkəˈɹeɪʃən/

From Latin decoratio: compare French décoration.
Morphologically decorate + -ion


court

→ Bulgarian: корт (kort)

→ French: court

desctree

→ Russian: корт (kort)
→ Armenian: կորտ (kort)

non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger

caught (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger)

From Middle English court, from Old French cort, curt, from Latin cōrtem (accusative of cōrs), ultimately from cohors. Doublet of cohort.

مَلْعَب

place for playing the game of tennis and some other ball games

An enclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different buildings; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley.

(Hong Kong, only used in names) A housing estate under the Home Ownership Scheme.

(Hong Kong, only used in names) An apartment building, or a small development of several apartment buildings.


mansion

mansions (plural)
mansioun (alternative obsolete)

→ Japanese: マンション (manshon)

Inherited from Middle English mansioun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman mansion, mansiun, from Latin mānsiō (“dwelling, stopping-place”), from the past participle stem of manēre (“stay”).

der

(Hong Kong, only used in names) An apartment building.


eh

Natural exclamation; first recorded mid-16th century. Perhaps an unstressed variant of aye (“yes, yeah”).
The Philippine sense is possibly influenced by Tagalog e and/or Spanish eh.

onomatopoeic

exclamation

ay (alternative)
ehh (alternative)
ehhh (alternative)

These hot dogs are pretty good, eh?

Well, what dost thou think then of seeing the world? Do ye wish to go round Cape Horn to see any more of it, eh? Can’t ye see the world where you stand?

(informal, chiefly Canada, Northern US, New Zealand, Australia, UK, Ireland, South Africa, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Commonwealth) Used as a tag question, to emphasise what goes before or to request that the listener express an opinion about what has been said.


aiya

ai yah (alternative)
aiyah (alternative)
aiyoh (alternative)

“I don’t need to hear any idle gossip.”
“Aiyah, it’s not idle gossip! These are important details I’ve learned just from being around them, and from what Mr. Wong found out—”

2015, Kevin Kwan, chapter 3, in China Rich Girlfriend, Doubleday, →ISBN:

Aiyah, dun ask me why their name all so funny, can or not? You ask me, I ask who?

2023 September 8, Devyani Sharma, From Deficit to Dialect: The Evolution of English in India and Singapore, Oxford University Press, →ISBN:

(China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Chinese Filipino, Chinese Australian, informal) ah; oh; exclamation of surprise, blame, dismay, shock, or fear.


dood

en-verb

dood (third-person singular simple present doods, present participle dooding, simple past and past participle dooded)

doods (present singular third-person)
dooding (participle present)
dooded (participle past)
dooded (past)


rates

(British, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong) Taxes, usually on property, levied by local government.


car park

/ˈkɑɹ ˌpɑːɹk/

It is important also that we improve car park security.

1998, House of Lords, Parliamentary Debates, page ccxxxv:

The dog lumbered his way across the car park to a point where he had to cross Emmons′s path.

2006, Richard Mechan, The State Is Not Immune, page 9:

Beyond the car park a rough old track ran uphill.

2010, John Marsden, The Ellie Chronicles: Incurable, unnumbered page:

Follow the road to the car park and boat ramp at Buffalo Creek.

2011, Richard Thomas, Sarah Thomas, David Andrew, Alan McBride, The Complete Guide to Finding the Birds of Australia, page 119:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, Hong Kong) An outdoor area or a building where cars may be parked.

(Australia, New Zealand) A rectangular section, usually marked by painted lines, designated for the parking of a single car.


pantry

From Middle English panetrie, from Old French paneterie, related to Latin panis (“bread”).


outlook

From out + look. Perhaps influenced by Chinese 外表 (literally “outside + surface”) and English look (“appearance”). Same etymology as Cantonese outlook.

ncog

How ignorant you are! Admiring the outlook of a same sex person has nothing to do with gay! Some of my male friends admire Andy Lau's and Leslie Cheung's looks quite a lot, but unfortunately, they are NOT gay, not BI, they are totally STRAIGHT!

1996 March 14, Bugs, soc.culture.hongkong.entertainment (Usenet):

Well, first impression strikes. The other half must be somewhat attractive on the outlook to capture you attention ...... how else would you noptice^([sic]) his/her existance?^([sic]) Agree?

1996 July 8, JT, soc.culture.hongkong.entertainment (Usenet):

Find some wooden block under the box to separate it with the ground, do the same to the wire if possible. But the wood is another concern then. May be get a concrete brick la if you can accept its outlook.

1998 July 10, Felix M.C. Li, hk.rec.audio-visual (Usenet):

If you accept the sound of Emsemble^([sic]) Reference. I am sure you will like Primaddona^([sic]) Gold. The Primaddona^([sic]) Gold is much better than the Reference in every aspect. The only draw back is probably the out-look, some people, including my mother, said it look like a coffin.

1998 December 19, and...@my-dejanews.com, hk.rec.audio-visual (Usenet):

Walla-walla was at first nick-named by the European passengers as the engine of the vessel was very noisy. The outlook of the walla-walla (Class 1 motorboat) did not change much in the past decades. The wooden hull, the below-loadline cabin (ie without deck) and the engine in the front part of the cabin were characteristics of these boats.

2000 November 28, Choi Kim Lui, “The Development of Motorboat Services in Hong Kong”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

(Hong Kong, colloquial) look; appearance


flag day

(Hong Kong) A day on which a registered charity raises money, usually by selling small stickers.


DPC

en-noun

DPC (countable and uncountable, plural DPCs)

PW4 (DPC 13900) was at the checkline junction Luard Road near Jaffe Road. They were there to prevent protesters rushing in to block the road from Luard Road.

Paragraph 67, HKSAR v Tong Ying Kit/Reasons for Verdict ([2021] HKCFI 2200)

(Hong Kong, law enforcement) Initialism of detective police constable.


-son

From Middle English -son, -eson, -esson, -essone, -essonne, from Middle English -es (“'s”) + sone (“son”).

inh

(Hong Kong) Added to a stem (usually a given name or surname) to form a given name.


kan

(Hong Kong) A catty, legally defined as 0.60478982 kilograms.


Kit

(Hong Kong) A male given name from Cantonese 傑 /杰 (git⁶).


DAB

w:Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong

(Hong Kong politics) Initialism of Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (a pro-Beijing political party in the HKSAR).


takeaway

Italian: takeaway

Swedish: takeaway

I couldn't be bothered to cook, so I bought a takeaway curry.

(chiefly UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, Hong Kong, sometimes Philippines) (Of food) intended to be eaten off the premises from which it was bought.


shroff

shroffs (plural)
sheroff (alternative)
sheraffe (alternative)
sheriffe (alternative)
sharoffe (alternative)
sherrafe (alternative)
shraff (alternative)
shrofe (alternative)
sheraff (alternative)
shraf (alternative)

A British Indian variant of saraf, from Urdu صراف (sarrāf) and Persian صراف (sarâf), from Arabic صَرَّاف (ṣarrāf).

An assistant shroff of the Queen Mary Hospital faced Mr. J. Reynolds at Central yesterday charged with the larceny of $10.

1950 November 3, South China Morning Post, page 7:

It is a source of endless fascination to newcomers to Hong Kong to observe types of employment in the city rarely seen in other parts of the world. Where, away from here, would you come across a shroff, for example?

2006 July 29, South China Morning Post, page 12:

(Hong Kong) A cashier, especially for a car park.

(Hong Kong) The office of such a cashier at a car park etc.


nullah

nullahs (plural)
nala (alternative)
nalla (alternative)
nallah (alternative)
nulla (alternative)

Borrowed from Bengali নালা (nala), Hindi नाला (nālā), from Sanskrit नाडी (nāḍī).

On all sides, wild mountains rise precipitously above wooded nullahs, and we have a clear view, to the right, of the famous Amah Rock, with its singular resemblance to a Chinese woman carrying her baby on her back in the traditional fashion.

1954 October, 'Boscawen', “The Kowloon-Canton Railway of Today”, in Railway Magazine, page 712:

(Hong Kong) An open-air, concrete-lined channel for draining rain or wastewater; a storm drain.


gweilo

gweilos (plural)
gweilo (plural)
gwailo (alternative)
kwailo (alternative)

From Cantonese 鬼佬 (gwai² lou²), from 鬼 (gwai², “ghost”) + 佬 (lou², “guy, man”).

She had ruffled the bed and laid a frilly nightdress on the floor because so far as the block was concerned Phoebe was the half-kwailo bastard who whored with the fat foreign devil.

1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 179:

(colloquial, ethnic slur) A white person in China, (particularly) a man; a ‘foreign devil’.


schroff

Borrowed from Persian صراف (sarâf) or Urdu صراف (sarrāf), from Arabic صَرَّاف (ṣarrāf).

Pay your bill at the schroff.

(Hong Kong) Alternative form of shroff: A cashier's office or booth.


RTHK

Radio Television Hong Kong
w:Radio Television Hong Kong

(Hong Kong, broadcasting) Initialism of Radio Television Hong Kong: the government broadcaster of Hong Kong.


ICAC

(Hong Kong, Australia) Initialism of Independent Commission Against Corruption.


LegCo

/ˈlɛd͡ʒ.kəʊ/

Legislative Council
w:Legislative Council of Hong Kong

(British, Hong Kong) Acronym of Legislative Council, the unicameral legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.


SFC

Securities and Futures Commission
w:Securities and Futures Commission

(Hong Kong) Initialism of Securities and Futures Commission.


KCR

Kowloon-Canton Railway
w:Kowloon-Canton Railway

(Hong Kong) Initialism of Kowloon-Canton Railway.


KCRC

Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation
w:Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation

(Hong Kong) Initialism of Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation.


TST

(Hong Kong, informal) Initialism of Tsim Sha Tsui.


MOS

(Hong Kong, informal) Initialism of Ma On Shan.


ding

(Hong Kong) An indigenous inhabitant of the New Territories entitled to the building a village house under the Small House Policy.


MTR

Mass Transit Railway
w:Mass Transit Railway

(Hong Kong) Initialism of Mass Transit Railway.


hoarding

Making inquiries she came to a hoarding, within which were excavations denoting the foundations of a building; and on the boards without one or two large posters announcing that the foundation-stone of the chapel about to be erected would be laid that afternoon at three o’clock by a London preacher of great popularity among his body.

1894 December – 1895 November, Thomas Hardy, chapter VIII, in Jude the Obscure, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], published 1896, →OCLC:

A hoarding is a legal requirement for the safety of the public on a building site. There are rules about its height and construction. But of course it is also the perfect opportunity: a blank canvas on which to show a vision of the life soon to be lived behind it.

2014 September 25, Hugo Macdonald, “Could those utopian hoardings for new developments get any more nauseating?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

They’re a familiar sight to many: the eye-roll-inducing, over-the-top development hoardings and adverts that celebrate the (inevitably luxury and, to most people, unaffordable) developments soon to be added to the city skyline.

2015 October 2, Francesca Perry, “What are the most ridiculous property development adverts you've seen?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

The west side is one massive building site, although it's hard to appreciate what's going on behind all the hoardings.

2022 November 16, Paul Bigland, “From rural branches to high-speed arteries”, in RAIL, number 970, page 57:

(construction, UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) A temporary fence-like structure built around building work to add security and prevent accidents to the public.


Established in the United Kingdom as the first emergency service number in the world, initially chosen because of its suitability at a time of rotary-dial telephones.

nine nine nine (alternative)
triple nine (alternative)

(UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, colloquial, metonymic) Emergency services; emergency service personnel.


janitor

janitors (plural)
janitress (feminine)
janitrix (feminine rare)

→ Bikol Central: dyanitor

→ Cebuano: dyanitor

→ Hiligaynon: dyanitor

→ Ilocano: dyanitor

→ Tagalog: dyanitor

(chiefly US, Philippines) Someone who looks after the maintenance and cleaning of a public building.

(Scotland, Hong Kong) A caretaker or custodian; someone who maintains a school building specifically and may serve other administrative roles.

curator

One who maintains a collection, especially in a museum


petrol station

(UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong) A filling station, gas station; a facility selling fuel for road motor vehicles


canteen

desc

Cantonese: can (ken⁶, ken⁶⁻², “canteen; cafeteria; restaurant”)

Borrowed from French cantine, itself borrowed from Italian cantina. Doublet of cantina.

A small cafeteria or snack bar, especially one in a military establishment, school, or place of work.

(Hong Kong, India, Malaysia) A cafeteria in a school or place of work.


secondary school

en-noun

secondary school (countable and uncountable, plural secondary schools)

One of the key roles played by the Whitby line is the transport of children from rural spots along the branch to secondary school in the coastal town.

2019 October, James Abbott, “Esk Valley revival”, in Modern Railways, page 77:

(education, UK, Ireland, Hong Kong) A state school attended between the ages of 11 and 16 or 18 between primary school and university.


taipan

From the name of the Thaypan tribe of Aboriginal people of central Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia, or from Wik-Mungkan tay-pan (or dhayban).

Any venomous elapid snake of the genus Oxyuranus, found in Australia and New Guinea.


lor

From Hokkien 囉 /啰 (--lo͘) and Cantonese 囉 /啰 (lo1).

loh (alternative)
lorh (alternative)
lo (alternative)

At my house lor.

It’s true for me, at least. Friends under interrogation insist that ‘Have You Eaten?’ is very much alive, but when asked to recall their last encounter, answers invariably skew towards inter-generational anecdotes. “Relatives lor” is the top reply, and “Small-talk with taxi drivers” emerged as a runner-up because many feel compelled to make conversation after the initial “PIE or CTE?” decision.

2018 September 17, Pan Jie, “Why Do We Greet Each Other By Asking, ‘Have You Eaten?’”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 2024-10-02:

As a facilitator, I often ask the participants: how are you feeling now? And often, the replies I get are: "Okay lor", "Like that lor".

2024 February 6, Carrie Tan, “Advancing Mental Health”, in Parliamentary Debates: Official Report (Parliament of Singapore), volume 95:

Suggests that the reply given is the obvious or expected one.


body check

→ Polish: bodiczek

→ Romanian: bodicec

→ Slovak: bodyček

medical practitioner
medical practitioner

(Hong Kong) A general health checkup performed by a medical practitioner.


brownout

brownouts (plural)
brown out (alternative)
brown-out (alternative)

A deverbal from brown out, by analogy with blackout.

Remember that you can't send or receive a fax if there is a brownout. ... Due to blackouts (the Philippine term is brownout), especially during the dry season, be prepared with a flashlight and don't forget to save your data in your PC.

(Philippines, Australia, Hong Kong) A blackout, regardless of time of day.


godown

→ Burmese: ဂိုဒေါင် (guidaung)

Hindustani:

→ Hindi: गोदाम (godām)

→ Urdu: گودام (godām)

/ˈɡoʊ̯daʊ̯n/

Borrowed from Malay gudang, from Tamil கிடங்கு (kiṭaṅku, “store room”) or Telugu గిడ్డంగి (giḍḍaṅgi, “store room, warehouse”).

der

1694, Fort St. George Diary and Consultation Book, entry for 30 April, 1694, Madras: 1918, p. 45,
Ordered that the new House in the Fort be forthwith built according to a modell now produced an approved, being 110 foot in length and 55 foot in breadth to be built on the East side the Fort at 18 Foot distance from the godown wall, and at equal distance from the north and south walls.

They retired round the corner of the godown and watched Willems curiously through the night, till the short daybreak was followed by the sudden blaze of the rising sun, and Almayer's establishment woke up to life and work.

1896, Joseph Conrad, chapter VII, in An Outcast of the Islands, London: T. Fisher Unwin […], →OCLC, part I, page 79:

There is a sort of village square with wood and palm-leaf native shops grouped round about it; behind this stands a godown for the rice beside the river bank. This godown was empty at the time, and it was here that the party was accommodated.

1950, Neville Shute, chapter 4, in A Town Like Alice, London: The Reprint Society, published 1952, page 101:

At last a certain merchant purchased the weedy little garden in the center of the Old Quarter and built godowns and shops upon its flower beds.

1987, Gene Wolfe, chapter XXXIII, in The Urth of the New Sun, 1st US edition, New York: Tor Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 196:

Sam Vimes awoke from a pig's nightmare to find himself lying on a pile of sacks in a godown in the docks.

2011, Terry Pratchett, Snuff, page 307 in hardback

(India, East Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong) A warehouse.


potato chip

I'll take a potato chip, and eat it!

2007 December 8, “目線 [Glare]”, in デスノート [Death Note], spoken by Light Yagami (Brad Swaile), Ocean Productions, via Adult Swim:

(Canada, US, Australia, Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong, New Zealand) A potato crisp, a thin slice of potato that has been fried.


ju

(Hong Kong, slang) Someone admitted to university through the JUPAS system.


cheongsam

en-noun

cheongsam (plural cheongsams or cheongsam)

From Cantonese 長衫／长衫 (coeng4 saam1, “long robe”).

[C]otton cheongsams are still the uniform at several colleges and secondary schools.

2010, Anthony Sattin, Hong Kong & Macau, →ISBN, page 160:

(Hong Kong) A plain coloured, tight-fitting dress with a short split at the thigh, worn as a school uniform by schoolgirls.


chur

(Hong Kong) Overwhelming; demanding; intense.


chur

(Hong Kong) To do something overwhelming, demanding, or intense.


carriageway

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-carriageway.wav

(UK, Ireland, Hong Kong) The part of a road that carries traffic.

(UK, Ireland, Hong Kong) One side of a dual carriageway that carries traffic in a single direction.


hea

(Hong Kong, colloquial, of people) slack; without or with little care or effort

(Hong Kong, colloquial) undemanding; with little workload


tael

From Portuguese tael, from Malay tahil. Doublet of tahil.

兩 /两

any of various related East Asian units of weight

(Hong Kong) leung, a traditional unit of weight, in modern usage legally defined as 1/16 of a catty or kan (斤) or 0.0377993638 kilograms


JR

(Hong Kong, law, informal) judicial review


TSA

Territory-wide System Assessment
w:Territory-wide System Assessment

(Hong Kong, education) Initialism of Territory-wide System Assessment.


chief executive

chief executive (plural chief executives)

After consultation with the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive in Council may, on being satisfied that it is in the public interest to do so, give the Board such written directions as he thinks fit with respect to the performance of any of the Board’s functions under this Ordinance.

2004, Legislative Council of Hong Kong, “Deposit Protection Scheme Ordinance”, in Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Gazette, Section 9(1), page A227:

The head of government or head of state.

(Hong Kong, capitalized as office holder) The head of government of Hong Kong


asm

(chiefly Hong Kong, chiefly university slang, text messaging) Pseudo-acronym of assignment.


tea set

tea sets (plural)
tea-set (alternative)
teaset (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-tea set.wav

(Hong Kong) A meal set served during teatime.


HA

(Hong Kong) Initialism of Hospital Authority.


chunam

chunam (usually uncountable, plural chunams)

From Tamil சுண்ணம் (cuṇṇam, “lime, ground mortar”), from Sanskrit चूर्ण (cūrṇa, “powder; lime”).

der

The one Mr Cleveland and I inhabited was, as I have already observed, constructed of mud instead of chunam.

1808–1810, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 226

In all the operations of chunam work, jaggery water, i. e. a solution of molasses or coarse sugar, is invariably added by the builders, and its use appears to have prevailed from the remotest ages.

1834, Rám Ráz, Essay on the Architecture of the Hindús, London: […] [F]or the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland; by John William Parker, […], →OCLC, page 64:

The floor of the room was of polished chunam, white as curds.

1888, Rudyard Kipling, “On the City Wall”, in In Black and White (A. H. Wheeler & Co.’s Indian Railway Library; no. 3), 5th edition, Allahabad: Messrs. A. H. Wheeler & Co.; London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, Ld., […], published 1890, →OCLC:

Look at the flies. Look at the chunam coming off the walls.

1924 June 4, E[dward] M[organ] Forster, A Passage to India, London: Edward Arnold & Co., →OCLC:

If the slope has to be covered by shotcrete or chunam, tree rings of sufficient size should be provided to allow adequate supply of air and water to reach the tree roots.

2009, Buildings Department, Improvement of Visual Appearance and Landscape Treatment for Man-made Slopes and Retaining Walls

(India, Hong Kong) A type of plaster made from lime and sand, used for indoor finishing and slope protection.


yeuk

(Hong Kong, dated) An administrative division.


KOL

(Hong Kong) influencer, particularly on social media


playgroup

(UK, Hong Kong) An informal organised group providing care and activities for preschool children.


traffic warden

(British, Hong Kong) A civilian employed by the police to regulate traffic and issue parking tickets.


PLB

(Hong Kong, transport) Initialism of public light bus.


subvent

en-verb

subvent (third-person singular simple present subvents, present participle subventing, simple past and past participle subvented)

subvents (present singular third-person)
subventing (participle present)
subvented (participle past)
subvented (past)

The Duty Lawyer Service is subvented by the HKSAR government, but independently administered by the legal profession of Hong Kong.

2008, “Department of Justice - Legal System of Hong Kong.”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), archived from the original on 2008-09-13:


add value

add value (third-person singular simple present adds value, present participle adding value, simple past and past participle added value)

adds value (present singular third-person)
adding value (participle present)
added value (participle past)
added value (past)


SYP

(Hong Kong, informal) Initialism of Sai Ying Pun.


gweipo

gweipos (plural)
gwaipo (alternative)
gwaipoh (alternative)
gwaipor (alternative)
gweipor (alternative)

From Cantonese 鬼婆 (gwai² po⁴, “foreign woman”), literally "ghost woman".

bor

(derogatory) An (older) Caucasian woman.


special constable

en-noun

special constable (plural special constables)

(Hong Kong) An ad hoc police officer appointed by the Chief Executive.


Hong Kong foot

→ Thai: ฮ่องกงฟุต (hɔ̂ng-gong-fút)

Calque from Chinese 香港腳／香港脚 (xiānggǎngjiǎo).

(slang, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, pathology) Athlete's foot.


doot

en-verb

doot (third-person singular simple present doots, present participle dooting, simple past and past participle dooted)

doots (present singular third-person)
dooting (participle present)
dooted (participle past)
dooted (past)
dood (alternative)

By onomatopoeia, from Cantonese 嘟 (dut¹).

Macau and Shenzhen will soon accept Octopus cards ...it'll be convenient at Lowu, but it won't quite be the same to 'doot' your card at the Lisboa's craps table.

2006 July 6, Andrew Sun, “Thursday Think Tank”, in South China Morning Post:

I had dragged myself to one of those exclusive vending machines (1/F, Windsor House); I dooted my Octopus card; I waited with anticipation; and then I finally dove in with faith.

2009 September 17, “Always Coca Cola...”, in South China Morning Post:

I'd like to work as a cashier in a supermarket. It has been my dream since childhood to "doot" things.

2015 May 22, “What is your ideal summer job?”, in SCMP Young Post:

On no more doot doot day...
Record temperature with a record time on a dootless day: 14C in water for 500 butt using 15m54s on this special day with a little bit more freedom than one day before.

2022 December 14, Robert Chung, Twitter:


doot

In a landmark deal between Octopus Cards and the Hong Kong Council of Social Services, up to 30 charities could be giving you a doot as well as a thank you when you shell out to help the needy.

2011 September 29, “Octopus expands into worthy causes”, in South China Morning Post, archived from the original on 2021-07-29:

This card is used for almost all forms of public transportation in Hong Kong, and is also accepted is basically any major chain store, restaurant, fast food chain, etc. Just tap the card/your wallet to the reader, and wait for the doot sound, at which point it will flash your remaining balance on the screen.

2015 June 16, u/themdreamers, r/Hong Kong:

No, mine is the sort of green card that says “Deet!” instead of “Doot!” when I press it on the Octopus card reader on the bus. It then reduces my fare to HK$2.

2017 March 1, “Let’s stop thinking of 65 as the benchmark age of retirement”, in South China Morning Post, archived from the original on 2017-03-01:

(Hong Kong) Beep (electronically-produced tone).


SEN

(UK, Hong Kong, education) Initialism of special educational needs.


SJ

Secretary for Justice
w:Secretary for Justice (Hong Kong)

(Hong Kong, law) Abbreviation of Secretary for Justice.


afternoon tea

en-noun

afternoon tea (countable and uncountable, plural afternoon teas)

After afternoon tea we all combine again for a plenary session, followed by the UniForum NZ AGM.

In looking at meal structures, Douglas (1972) made a clear distinction between the afternoon tea which is a snack and the high tea which is classified as a light meal.

1995, David Marshall, Food Choice and the Consumer, page 270:

(Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong) A small meal or snack eaten between lunch and dinner (supper); a period of time set aside for this purpose, taken as a break from work or from a conference.

下午茶

light meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon


confirmor

Confirmors buy and sell a property before a transaction is completed and they are generally thought to be speculators.

2004 August 30, “Buy-and-sell home market loses steam as deals fall off”, in South China Morning Post:

During the period between the signing of the provisional S&P agreement and the completion of the sale, “A” (the confirmor) sells the property to sub-purchaser “C” for a higher price.

2008, Chris Dillon, Landed: The Expatriate’s Guide to Buying and Renovating Property in Hong Kong, →ISBN, page 27:

(Hong Kong) A purchaser of real estate who resells the property before the transaction is completed.


think too much

en-verb

think too much (third-person singular simple present thinks too much, present participle thinking too much, simple past and past participle thought too much)

thinks too much (present singular third-person)
thinking too much (participle present)
thought too much (participle past)
thought too much (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-think too much.wav

(colloquial, Hong Kong) To think over a problem in a complex way where the solution is simple.

For French today, we will learn the word douche - now, don't think too much!

(colloquial, Hong Kong, not standard, humorous) To associate something with a taboo topic such as sex and profanity.


Punti

From a historical pronunciation of Cantonese 本地 (bun² dei⁶, “local”).

A group of people who moved to Hong Kong during the Song Dynasty.


foki

From Cantonese 夥記 /伙记 (fo² gei³). Compare Chinese Pidgin English foki or fookee.

One of them took him by the queue and tied him to his fokis, while the other pointed a revolver at him and told him to keep quiet.

1894 November 28, “The Winglok Street Outrage”, in Hongkong Telegraph, page 2:

FOR impersonating an emigrant before the Harbour Master, a foki in an immigration boarding-house at 291 Des Vœux Road, West, was to-day fined $100 and the accountant, and another foki for aiding and abetting, $50 and $25 respectively.

1905 January 30, Hongkong Telegraph, page 4:

Something resembling a free fight occurred in Wing Lok Street last evening between the fokis employed at Nos 156 and 160.

1905 August 30, “Fokis Fight”, in China Mail, page 4:

A CHINESE man who had left a note at the scene of his crime pleaded guilty to stealing a quantity of clothing from five fokis. He was caught after he left a note, signed by himself, with his victims. He was sentenced to six weeks in prison.

Cheung said that Gore, apparently under the influence of liquor, went to the Sun Sung Oot Cafe, Hennessy Road, and insisted on buying a piece of raw beef hung in the shop. Cheung, a foki, told him raw meat could not be sold and Gore threw the meat in his face.

The company's representative pleaded the offence was unintentional as owing to holidays and busy hours the fokis was not informed of the ceiling price of that brand.

Police charged this morning that a shop foki had spent $28,000 he told them had been stolen from him

1961 December 21, “Foki charged with giving false information”, in China Mail, page 12:


PTH

(chiefly Hong Kong) Initialism of Putonghua.


forktail

(Hong Kong) Any fish of the species Ariomma indica.


summary offence

en-noun

summary offence (plural summary offences)

(law, British, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong) A crime in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded against summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment, as required for an indictable offence.

簡易罪 /简易罪

crime that can be proceeded against summarily


indictable offence

indictable offence (plural indictable offences)

(law, British, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong) An offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is a prima facie case to answer or by a grand jury, in contrast to a summary offence.


picul

piculs (plural)
pical (alternative)
pikal (alternative)
pikol (alternative)
pikul (alternative)
pico (alternative)
picol (alternative)
pecul (alternative)
peecul (alternative)
peecull (alternative)

From Malay pikul, with influence from earlier Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese pico.

Powder sugar of China, the hundred cattees or peecull worth fortie to fiftie.

c. 1605, John Saris, quoted in Anthony Farrington's The English Factory in Japan (1991), p. 56

The coal is sold for 130 cash... per picul of 133 pounds.

1888, Archibald John Little, Through the Yang-tse Gorges, page 279:

(units of measure) A traditional South and East Asian unit of weight, based upon the load of a shoulder pole and varying by place and over time but usually standardized at about 60 kg.


PTI

public transport interchange
public transport interchange#English

(UK, Hong Kong, transport) Initialism of public transport interchange


hse

(Hong Kong, Singapore) Abbreviation of house.


pai gow

A Chinese gambling game played with dominoes.


indecent assault

indecent assault (countable and uncountable, plural indecent assaults)

(criminal law, Hong Kong, historical in UK) Sexual contact with another person, who does not want it, that does not result in, or is not considered to be, rape.


ball pen

ball pens (plural)
ballpen (alternative)

→ Japanese: ボールペン

→ Korean: 볼펜 (bolpen)

desc

→ Burmese: ဘောပင် (bhau:pang), ဘောလ်ပင် (bhaulpang)

→ Tagalog: bolpen

(Hong Kong, Pakistan, India, Philippines) Clipped compound of ballpoint pen.


chek

From the Yale romanization of the Cantonese 尺 (cek³). Doublet of chi.


candareen

candareens (plural)
candarin (alternative)
condrin (alternative)

A traditional unit of weight in East Asia, approximately 378 milligrams and equivalent to ten cash. A troy candareen is approximately 374 milligrams.


aircon

en-noun

aircon (countable and uncountable, plural aircons)

→ Central Dusun: iikon

→ Brunei Malay: ekon

→ Indonesian: erkon

→ Japanese: エアコン (eakon)

→ Korean: 에어컨 (eeokeon)

→ Tagalog: erkon

→ Tausug: ilkun/irkun

And when I suggested turning the aircon off to make the battery last longer, he threw back his head and laughed; later I read that the car’s economy driving mode does exactly that, turning off aircon to extend the car’s range.

2015 September 10, Jemima Kiss, “Clean and green, but an electric car can give a driver some shocks”, in The Guardian:

using the aircon at mid-setting or at 25 degrees Celsius for maximum efficiency.

2019 September 9, “Meralco rates down for the fifth straight month”, in Manila Bulletin, archived from the original on 2019-09-22:

(UK, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Hong Kong, abbreviation, informal) Alternative form of air-con (“air conditioning”).


dai pai dong

From Cantonese 大牌檔 /大牌档 (daai6 paai4 dong3).

(Hong Kong) A kind of open-air food stall.


mooi-jai

mooi-jai (plural)
mooi jai (alternative)
mui jai (alternative)

Borrowed from Cantonese 妹仔 (mui⁶⁻¹ zai², “maidservant”).

bor

(Hong Kong) A female household servant, usually an unwanted daughter bought from another family.


add oil

en-verb

add oil (third-person singular simple present adds oil, present participle adding oil, simple past and past participle added oil)

adds oil (present singular third-person)
adding oil (participle present)
added oil (participle past)
added oil (past)

Calque of Chinese 加油 (jiāyóu), particularly in Hong Kong contexts via its Cantonese pronunciation gaa1 jau4-2, sometimes credited to shouts of support during the Macau Grand Prix. Cf. cooking with gas, gas up, fuel up, etc.

(idiomatic, chiefly Hong Kong, China) Synonym of let's go: a cheer of encouragement, support, etc.


Chiuchow

/ˈt͡ʃuːt͡ʃaʊ/

Chiu Chow (alternative)
Chiu Chau (alternative)

(Hong Kong) A variety of Southern Min Chinese, spoken in the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong and its diaspora.

(Hong Kong) A person of Teochew / Chaoshan heritage.


Chiuchow

/ˈt͡ʃuːt͡ʃaʊ/

(Hong Kong) Relating to the Chaoshan region of China and/or its people.


diu lei

From Cantonese 屌你 (diu² nei⁵, “fuck you”).

diu nei (alternative)
diu lay (alternative)

You impudent muppet, diu lay! You may be able to hoodwink people over in the UK, but not those of us over here.

1996 April 18, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet):

Btw, finally saw fat fat here....wahahaha. Diu nei, plane last time.

But I'm like Diu lei sit your ass back down.

Diu Lei, koki, can you don't send food link before bed time?

“操你老妈啊 (diu nei lok mo ah)!” I shouted in Cantonese.

2011, Foo Yin Tung, The Right Mistakes: My Life As A Singapore Gangster, →ISBN, page 198:

“Yes! Hantu! Ghots! Mangroves and snakes! Mong! Stupid! Diu lei loh mo! F ... your mother! That is why it has been chosen; and the name Hantu helps keep people away. Probably like you they fear the devil,” said Ah Cheong, hurling more expletives at his underling before returning back to the house.

2012, Chan Ling Yap, Bitter-Sweet Harvest: A sequel to the acclaimed and well-loved Sweet Offerings, →ISBN:

“Diu lei chau hai ge mo, fuck your smelly mother's cunt,” Spencer said under his breath and belted the bloody skull with his foot, sending splatters of tissue and bone flying around the room.

2015, Valerie Goldsilk, Classified As Crime, →ISBN:

(colloquial Hong Kong, Singlish, vulgar) Fuck you.


delay no more

Deliberate Hobson-Jobson of Cantonese 屌你老母 (diu² nei⁵ lou⁵ mou⁵⁻², “fuck your mother”).

der

Delay no more sea tiger! Sea tiger eat shit la!

Delay No More to All who Against the Korea Team!!

2002 June 26, alt.sports.soccer.worldcup2002 (Usenet):

how dare you thing yourself god? Yes, you are the god of your own world. Delay no more.

The G.O.D. emporium on Hollywood Road joined in the local action by dressing its window mannequins in t-shirts that read, "Delay no more: Supporting local culture" and "Delay no more: Save local markets."

2012, Kwok-bun Chan, editor, Hybrid Hong Kong, Abingdon: Routledge, →ISBN:


deadline fighter

en-noun

deadline fighter (plural deadline fighters)

The poorer assignments were turned in by students (known locally as ‘deadline fighters’) who decided to [...] draft their final dictionary entries the night before the due date.

2015, James Lambert, “Lexicography as a teaching tool: A Hong Kong case study”, in Lan Li, Jamie McKeown, Liming Liu, editors, Dictionaries and corpora: Innovations in reference science. Proceedings of ASIALEX 2015 Hong Kong, Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, page 146:

(Hong Kong, colloquial) A person who begins work on a project or assignment right before the due date and time.


Hoklo

Borrowed from a southern Chinese lect; compare Cantonese 學佬／学佬 (hok6 lou2), Hakka 學佬／学佬 (Ho̍k-ló), Hokkien 福佬 (Ho̍h-ló). The Hailufeng variety sense is influenced by Hong Kong Cantonese 學佬 /学佬 (hok⁶ lou²).

zh-l

學佬／学佬 (Ho̍k-ló)

(Hong Kong) A variety of Southern Min Chinese originating from the Hailufeng region.


lukong

Probably from Cantonese 勞工 /劳工 (lou⁴ gung¹).

The lukongs, No. 33 and 27 were again brought up charged with the robbery of 500 cash.

1869 May 18, The Hongkong Daily Press, The suspicious lukongs, page 3:

The charge against two lukongs of assaulting a coolie to the danger of his life, on the 21st ult., has been remanded for another week.

1900 September 14, China Mail, The Charge against Lukongs, page 2:

The woman is alleged to have given him a saucy answer, whereupon the lukong caught hold of her by the jacket.

1908 February 20, The Hongkong Daily Press, page 2:

A lukong was then placed before the Court on a charge of aiding and abetting the youth.

1909 December 20, Hongkong Weekly Press, page 523:

The other five lukongs, who were in plain clothes, were taken to the Police Station, and on a search being made, several hundereds of dollars were found in their joint possession.

1927 September 22, The Hongkong Daily Press, page 5:

(Hong Kong, obsolete) constable of Chinese descent


dragon gate

From dragon + gate.
From Cantonese 龍門 /龙门 (lung⁴ mun⁴).

(Hong Kong, architecture) An architectural design feature to allow for concordance with the philosophy of feng shui, a portal that allows dragons to flow through structures, by leaving an empty hole through a building.


cage home

From cage + home.
From Cantonese 籠屋 /笼屋 (lung⁴ uk¹), from being a home set in a cage.

(Hong Kong, architecture) A subdivision of an apartment/tenement/flat's rooms into separate living spaces of stacked cages, big enough to fit a bed and hold one's belongings.


white terror

en-noun

white terror (countable and uncountable, plural white terrors)

By analogy with red terror, with the "white" Thermidorian Reaction against the "red" reign of terror.

(politics, Hong Kong) The erosion of democratic freedoms under Chinese rule.


my learned friend

(law, Australia, British, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Canada) A barrister on the opposing side of a dispute; a member of opposing counsel.


sitting-out area

sitting-out area (plural sitting-out areas)

(Hong Kong) A public space provided with outdoor seating and some shelter; a parklet.


NCS

(Hong Kong, education) Initialism of non-Chinese speaking.


laugh die me

Calque of Cantonese 笑死我 (siu3 sei2 ngo5, “very funny”, literally “making me laugh to death”).

calque

really laugh die me! Coma patient wakes up to turn off YPAP video playing on smartphone

2014 May 16, atwee, Singapore Rolex Club:

Laugh die me @CGTNOfficial

"Doctor" laugh die me

2019 November 25, XxBananaLordxX, Reddit, r/HongKong:

(Hong Kong, Singapore, Chinglish) very funny


Bill of Rights

(Commonwealth, Hong Kong) a legislation or part of the constitution that guarantee human rights, and sometimes relief by courts when they are infringed.


functional constituency

en-noun

functional constituency (plural functional constituencies)

(Hong Kong, Macau, politics) A type of non-geographical electoral constituency in which the constituents are defined by their professional occupation.

功能界別 /功能界别

electoral constituency based on occupation


JUPAS

w:Joint University Programmes Admissions System

(Hong Kong) Acronym of Joint University Programmes Admissions System.


non-ju

(Hong Kong, slang) Clipping of non-JUPAS.


non-JUPAS

(Hong Kong) A university admission system for non-local qualifications.

(Hong Kong) Someone admitted to university outside the JUPAS system.


non-JU

(Hong Kong, slang) Alternative letter-case form of non-ju.


kaito

kaitos (plural)
kai-to (alternative)
kaido (alternative)

(Hong Kong) A small motorized ferry or sampan that serves mostly remote islands.


fixed penalty notice

fixed penalty notice (plural fixed penalty notices)

How will these rules be enforced?
[…] Fines for first-time offenders who breach regulations have been increased from £60 to £100 (reducing to £50 if the fixed penalty notice is paid within 14 days), […]

2020 May 20, “Social distancing: Questions and answers”, in Rail, page 9:

(UK, Hong Kong) A notice served on an offender by an authorised person, which is usually for committing a minor offence. It requires the offender to pay a fixed fine within a certain period of time, or appeal against it, possibly in court.


Fty.

[…] Fty. bldg.

(Hong Kong, in building names) Abbreviation of Factory.


pro-democracy

en-adj

pro-democracy (comparative more pro-democracy, superlative most pro-democracy)

more pro-democracy (comparative)
most pro-democracy (superlative)
prodemocracy (alternative)

After occupying Hong Kong’s major roads, pro-democracy protesters have occupied a landmark dear to the hearts of the city’s residents.

2014 October 23, “Pro-Democracy Banner Occupies Hong Kong’s Iconic Lion Rock, Spawns Memes”, in The Wall Street Journal, archived from the original on 2019-12-05:

Liu accused pro-democracy protesters of creating trouble in front of the Chinese embassy in London last week, painting Hong Kong independence slogans on on both sides of the gate, as well as pushing the territory’s justice minister, Teresa Cheng, to the ground.

2019 November 18, Patrick Wintour, “China accuses Britain of taking sides on Hong Kong protests”, in The Guardian:

As the siege was petering out, elections had been held for the territory’s district councils in which the pro-democracy parties triumphed.

2020 December 12, Richard Lloyd Parry, “Have Covid and government brutality killed Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement?”, in The Times (World News), →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-10-27:

On the 33rd anniversary of the crushing of pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, Taiwan has emerged as one of the last places in the Chinese-speaking world remembering the deaths of thousands at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, after authorities banned such demonstrations in Hong Kong.

2022 June 4, Vic Chiang, “Tiananmen vigils gain prominence in Taiwan as Chinese threat looms”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-06-04, Asia:

Sixteen prominent pro-democracy activists are charged with “subverting state power,” which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, and 31 others who have already pleaded guilty will be sentenced at the trial’s conclusion.

2023 February 12, Editorial Board, “In a Hong Kong courtroom, freedom itself is on trial”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-02-13, Opinion:

A closely watched trial involving 13 people who stormed Hong Kong's legislature during pro-democracy protests in 2019 began on Monday with seven people pleading guilty to a rioting charge.

2023 May 29, Jessie Pang, Justin Fung, “Seven plead guilty at start of Hong Kong legislature storming trial”, in Reuters, archived from the original on 2023-05-29:

An annual vigil was held in Taipei yesterday to remember the victims of a violent crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators by Chinese authorities in Beijing 34 years ago on June 4.[…]
He said that pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong had previously held large-scale vigils in Victoria Park every year on June 4 to remember the victims of Tiananmen Square, but Hong Kong authorities banned the event in 2020, citing COVID-19 concerns.

2023 June 5, “Taipei holds vigil for Tiananmen Square Massacre”, in Taipei Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-04, Taiwan News, page 2:

While Beijing has credited the law with restoring peace and order to the city, it has been criticised by rights groups and western governments for imprisoning pro-democracy activists and undermining civil freedoms.

2023 June 15, Didi Tang, “Spotify removes protest song Glory to Hong Kong”, in The Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-15, World:

(Hong Kong) The political parties in favor of democracy and against authoritarian rule.


DSE

w:Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education

(Hong Kong) Initialism of Diploma of Secondary Education, the university admission test in Hong Kong.


RCEP

(East Asia, trade, law, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand) Abbreviation of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

East Asia; trade; Southeast Asia; East Asia; trade; Southeast Asia


add value machine

en-noun

add value machine (plural add value machines)

Calque of Cantonese 增值機 /增值机 (zang¹ zik⁶ gei¹).

calque

(Hong Kong) A machine that adds money to (tops up) public transport cards.


CWB

(Hong Kong, informal) Initialism of Causeway Bay.


aeroplane mode

en-noun

aeroplane mode (countable and uncountable, plural aeroplane modes)

(UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Canada, South Africa, Malaysia) Alternative form of airplane mode.


typhoon shelter

typhoon shelter (plural typhoon shelters)

Calque of Chinese 避風塘 /避风塘 (bìfēngtáng).

(China, Hong Kong) A sheltered section of a harbour where small to medium-sized watercraft can dock during typhoons, gales, or other rough weather.


matshed

matsheds (plural)
mat-shed (alternative)
mat shed (alternative)

In late modern China and Hong Kong, a temporary structure made of bamboo poles and palm leaves.


MPF

Mandatory Provident Fund
w:Mandatory Provident Fund

(Hong Kong) Initialism of Mandatory Provident Fund.


legal notice

delegated legislation
delegated legislation

(Hong Kong, law) In some common law jurisdictions, a form of delegated legislation enacted under a power derived from an enactment.


collective title

collective title (plural collective titles)

(law, UK, Ireland, formerly Hong Kong) A title given to a collection of related acts (or other pieces of legislation) to facilitate citation.

Offences against the State Acts 1939–1998


arrestable offence

arrestable offence (plural arrestable offences)

From arrestable + offence. First defined and introduced in English law by the Criminal Law Act 1967 (c. 58).

(criminal law, Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, historical in UK) A criminal offence such that the offender may be arrested without warrant.

Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005


subsidiary legislation

subsidiary legislation (usually uncountable, plural subsidiary legislations)

secondary legislation
secondary legislation#English

(law, Hong Kong, Singapore) Synonym of secondary legislation.


GBM

GBM (countable and uncountable, plural GBMs)

Grand Bauhinia Medal
w:Grand Bauhinia Medal

(Hong Kong) Initialism of awardee of the Grand Bauhinia Medal.


ding ding

Reduplication of ding, after the double-bell-ring of a tram.

Another 157 trams will display a smile on their bumpers for three months to represent Hongkongers’ happy collective memories of the vehicles, affectionately known as “ding dings”.

2017, Cannix Yau, “Happy happy ding ding? Hong Kong’s new-look trams offer more smiles per mile”, in South China Morning Post:


white card

(Hong Kong) A citizen-owned automobile used as an illegal unlicensed taxi.


jetso

→ Cantonese: jetso, so

Borrowed from Cantonese 著數 /着数 (zoek6 sou3).


OCTB

(Hong Kong, law enforcement) Initialism of Organised Crime and Triad Bureau.


happy corner

(Hong Kong) A type of school prank where two or more people slam a victim's crotch against a pole or similar objects.


happy corner

en-verb

happy corner (third-person singular simple present happy corners, present participle happy cornering, simple past and past participle happy cornered)

happy corners (present singular third-person)
happy cornering (participle present)
happy cornered (participle past)
happy cornered (past)

Hong Kong is many things. It is having all the showers busy in your hostel at 2 a.m. It is taking every photo with a “victory” sign. It is singing karaoke until 6 a.m. and taking the KCR home. It is falling asleep on the KCR and waking up in Lo Wu. It is running around “happy cornering” each other.

2004 April 10, “Let's enjoy life in this crazy and unique city”, in Varsity:

Apple Daily reported the incident on January 27. According to the report, a couple of male students held up one person and happy cornered him against a flagpole. Although he cried out, there was a smile on his face.

2004 April 10, “Campus amusement arouses controversy”, in Varsity:

(Hong Kong) To perform such a prank on someone.


Senior Counsel

head

Senior Counsel (plural Senior Counsel or Senior Counsels, abbreviation SC)

Senior Counsel (plural)
Senior Counsels (plural)
SC (abbreviation)

The two Senior Counsels, who were very familiar with each other, were addressing one another as ‘Mister’, while I was addressing both by their Christian names.

2013, Peter Quinn, “Becoming a Target”, in The Outsider, Lucan, Dublin: Irish Sports Publishing, →ISBN, page 187:

He’s a deputy director of public prosecutions, one of only three Senior Counsel in his division, with an office on the sixth floor of the Innes Court building on Pritchard Street in downtown Johannesburg.

2016, Alex Eliseev, chapter 28, in Cold Case Confession: Unravelling the Betty Ketani Murder, Johannesburg: Pan Macmillan South Africa, →ISBN, page 149:

(Ireland, Hong Kong, Commonwealth outside of the realm, law) An honorific status officially conferred on senior or meritorious barristers (and occasionally other kinds of lawyer).


NPJ

(Hong Kong, law) Initialism of non-permanent judge (of the Court of Final Appeal).


AOABH

actual bodily harm
actual bodily harm#English

(Hong Kong, criminal law) Initialism of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.


hi-bye friend

Suggesting brief conversations in which little is said beyond a greeting.

(informal, chiefly Hong Kong) A person with whom one has only a very casual and superficial friendship.


Kung Hei Fat Choi

/kʊŋ ˌheɪ ˌfat ˈt͡ʃoɪ̯/

From Cantonese 恭喜發財 /恭喜发财 (gung¹ hei² faat³ coi⁴). Compare Tagalog Kung Hey Fat Tsoy.

bor

Kung Hei Fat Choy (alternative)
Kung Hey Fat Choi (alternative)
Kung Hey Fat Choy (alternative)
Kung Hei Fat Tsoi (alternative)
Kung Hei Fat Tsoy (alternative)
Kong Hei Fat Choi (alternative)
Kong Hei Fat Choy (alternative)
Kong Hey Fat Choi (alternative)
Kong Hey Fat Choy (alternative)
Kong Hei Fat Tsoi (alternative)
Kong Hei Fat Tsoy (alternative)

(Hong Kong, Philippines) Happy Chinese New Year


lift tower

(Hong Kong) A building specifically built for enclosing lifts (elevators), sometimes including stairs.


orientation camp

en-noun

orientation camp (plural orientation camps)

orientation camps (plural)
ocamp (alternative)
Ocamp (alternative)

→ Cantonese: ocamp, O

(Hong Kong) orientation (adjustment for new students to the university environment) activities at universities, usually held by student organizations in the form of a camp


McRefugee

From Mc- + refugee. Calque of Japanese マック難民, probably via Chinese 麥難民 /麦难民 (Màinànmín).

(Hong Kong, dated in Japan) One who stays overnight or lives in a 24-hour McDonald's.


spring pocket

Calque of Cantonese 春袋 (ceon¹ doi⁶, ceon¹ doi⁶⁻²). Popularized by The Conmen in Vegas (1999).

calque

Oh sorry, 轉返個英文台. Do remember, you disturb me fucking, your spring pocket will be barbecued! Get out!

1999, The Conmen in Vegas (overall work in Cantonese), spoken by Peter Chu (Alex Man):

Oh, I'm sorry, [let me] switch back to English. Do keep in mind that, if you [dare to] disturb me when I'm having sex, your testicles will be roasted! Get out!

(Hong Kong, colloquial, slang, humorous) Scrotum; testicles.


collect skin

en-verb

collect skin (third-person singular simple present collects skin, present participle collecting skin, simple past and past participle collected skin)

collects skin (present singular third-person)
collecting skin (participle present)
collected skin (participle past)
collected skin (past)

(Hong Kong, colloquial, vulgar) to shut up

(Hong Kong, colloquial, vulgar) to be done for


no eye see

Calque of Cantonese 冇眼睇 (mou⁵ ngaan⁵ tai²).

calque

(Hong Kong, Singapore) To be unable to bear (the sight of) something anymore; to refuse to be involved further; to be disinclined to continue caring about.


tea buffet

(Hong Kong) A buffet which serves food from an afternoon tea.


cageman

(Hong Kong) One who lives in a cage home.


tong fai

(Hong Kong) A tuition fee collected by public sector schools.


fung shui

[fʊŋ˥˥ sɵy̯˥˥]

From Cantonese 風水 /风水 (fung¹ seoi²), when the initial of the second syllable was still [ɕ] during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Doublet of feng shui.

Hong Kong has reason enough to feel glum these days, and not only because 6 million subjects have suddenly lost their British governor. For one thing, the superstitious, and those who follow the Chinese geomancy know as fung shui, are making much of the circumstances of Sir Edward's passing.
He was the first governor ever to die in office. He died up in Peking, which many still think of as the enemy capital. He died while he was on Hong Kong business -- indeed, it looks as though he died from the very rigors of that business. And he died on the unpropitious fourth of the month -- the Cantonese sound for the number four being homophonic with the Cantonese word for death. Very bad fung shui, the magic men say, with consequent ill luck to come.

1986 December 16, Simon Winchester, “A Funeral in Hong Kong”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-08-05:

Hong Kong Chinese are serious about fung shui, the ancient art of arranging buildings and other objects so they are in harmony with nature and bring good luck. Many fung shui experts say the sharp angles of the tower are like dangerous daggers pointed at businesses and homes in the area. Small mirrors have been placed in the windows of surrounding buildings to deflect the evil that is supposed to emanate from the bank.

1990 March 22, Barbara Basler, “Hong Kong Journal; Is the Skyscraper Looking Daggers at Neighbors?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2015-05-25, Section A, page 4:

(Hong Kong) Synonym of feng shui: the Cantonese-derived name.


Chung Yeung Festival

A partial calque of Cantonese 重陽節 /重阳节 (cung⁴ joeng⁴ zit³), from Chinese 重陽 /重阳 (Chóngyáng, “Doubled Yang”), a traditional name for the date of its occurrence, the 9th day of the 9th month in the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar.

der

Double Ninth Festival
Double Ninth Festival#English

(Hong Kong) Synonym of Double Ninth Festival.


lai see

en-noun

lai see (countable and uncountable, plural lai sees)


passport prison

(Hong Kong) A country where one is residing for the purpose of obtaining the passport or permanent residency of the country.


part-time girlfriend

part-time girlfriend (plural part-time girlfriends)

part-time girlfriends (plural)
part time girlfriend (alternative)
PTGF (alternative)
ptgf (alternative)

(Hong Kong) A female who offers her companionship to males by acting as his girlfriend, in exchange for financial or material gains.

(Hong Kong, euphemistic) A female who works part-time in prostitution, usually in additional to the above.


K-Town

(Hong Kong, informal) Abbreviation of Kennedy Town.


ding right

Partial calque of Cantonese 丁權 /丁权 (ding¹ kyun⁴).

partial calque

(Hong Kong) The right to build a village house under the Small House Policy.


topside development

en-noun

topside development (plural topside developments)

(Hong Kong) A development (usually residential) that is built atop some other infrastructure (usually railway).


min pay

(Hong Kong, banking) minimum required amount of payment for paying back credit card loans


blow water

en-verb

blow water (third-person singular simple present blows water, present participle blowing water, simple past blew water or (nonstandard) blowed water, past participle blown water or (nonstandard) blowed water)

blows water (present singular third-person)
blowing water (participle present)
blew water (past)
blowed water (nonstandard past)
blown water (participle past)
blowed water (nonstandard participle past)

Calque of Cantonese 吹水 (ceoi¹ seoi², literally “blow water”).

calque

(Hong Kong) to brag; to boast; to talk big


flag-selling

(Hong Kong) The act of raising money by a registered charity on a flag day.


flag bag

(Hong Kong) A bag for collecting donations on flag day.


Yoyo

* (female given name): From the propensity of female Chinese given names to reduplicate a syllable, resulting in a reduplicated syllable in the coining of an English given name not originating as a Chinese name.

(Hong Kong, Singapore) A female given name.


DDJ

deputy district judge
deputy district judge#English

(law, Hong Kong, England, Wales) Abbreviation of deputy district judge.


junk party

(Hong Kong) A party organised on yachts; a boat party.


Da Jiu Festival

(Hong Kong) A Taoist ritual and festival for requesting peace and harmony in a locality.


half-half

(Hong Kong, Philippines) fifty-fifty; half and half


PCLL

(Hong Kong) Postgraduate Certificate in Laws.


Tuen Ng Festival

Partial calque of Cantonese 端午節 /端午节 (dyun¹ ng⁵ zit³), from Chinese 端午 (Duānwǔ, “Opening of the Seventh”), one name for the day of the festival in the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. Doublet of Duanwu Festival.

der

Dragon Boat Festival
Dragon Boat Festival#English

(Hong Kong) Synonym of Dragon Boat Festival.


HZMB

Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge
w:Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge

(Hong Kong) Initialism of Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge.


LKF

(Hong Kong) Initialism of Lan Kwai Fong.


how see

Calque of Cantonese 點睇 /点睇 (“what does sb. think”, literally “how does sb. view something”).

calque

How see this post?

(Hong Kong, informal, Internet slang, text messaging) what do you think?, what say you?


decoration worker

en-noun

decoration worker (plural decoration workers)

(Hong Kong) An indoor construction worker; a worker who refurbishes or renovates property.


lam chau

(Hong Kong) mutual destruction as a revolutionary strategy against the Chinese Communist Party


com sec

company secretary
company secretary#English

(Hong Kong) Clipping of company secretary.


YMT

(Hong Kong, informal) Initialism of Yau Ma Tei.


two-dish rice

Calque of Cantonese 兩餸飯 /两𩠌饭 (loeng⁵ sung³ faan⁶, literally “two-dish rice”).

calque

(Hong Kong) A meal consisting of rice and two side dishes, often sold at a low price; economy rice.


this this rice

From the fact that people tend to point at the food and say “This!” when ordering the meal.

(Hong Kong, humorous) Synonym of two-dish rice.


AQHI

air quality health index
w:air quality health index

(Canada, Hong Kong, meteorology) Initialism of air quality health index, a measure of air pollution.


corrupt practice

en-noun

corrupt practice (plural corrupt practices)

(criminal law, UK, Commonwealth, Hong Kong) a group of serious electoral offences (as opposed to illegal practices), which generally includes bribery, treating and undue influence towards voters.


up what spring

Partial calque of Cantonese 噏乜春 (ngap¹ mat¹ ceon¹, “what the hell are you babbling about”, literally “what testicles are you babbling about”), where 春 (ceon¹) is a homograph meaning both “testicles” and “spring (season)”. By surface analysis, Cantonese up + what + spring.

surf

相反，好諷刺地，一句Grammar全對嘅句子，有時反而唔知佢Up what spring，例如日文偽文青廢Up系列：「在非洲,每隔一分鐘，就有六十秒過去⋯⋯」

2017, 港語日報 [KONGISH DAILY] (overall work in Cantonese), →ISBN:

(Hong Kong, colloquial, slightly vulgar) What the hell are you saying?


your face, your fate

Calque of Cantonese 你的樣子如何，你的命運也必如何 /你的样子如何，你的命运也必如何 (nei⁵ dik¹ joeng⁶ zi² jyu⁴ ho⁴, nei⁵ dik¹ ming⁶ wan⁶ jaa⁵ bit¹ jyu⁴ ho⁴, “And as thy face, so shall thy fate be”), modified from a verse in the Bible 你的日子如何，你的力量也必如何 (“And as thy days, so shall thy strength be”).

calque

你的樣子如何，你的命運也必如何

(Hong Kong) One's fate and how one is treated in life depends on one's looks.

你的日子也必如何

nei⁵ dik¹ joeng⁶ zi² jyu⁴ ho⁴, nei⁵ dik¹ jat⁶ zi² jaa⁵ bit¹ jyu⁴ ho⁴


rmb

(Hong Kong, Singapore, chiefly text messaging or Internet slang) Pseudo-acronym of remember.


BNSS

w:British Nationality (Hong Kong) Selection Scheme

(Hong Kong, historical) Initialism of British Nationality Selection Scheme.


I kill you later

en-noun

I kill you later (plural I kill you laters)

(Hong Kong, finance, humorous) An accumulator.


man on the Shau Kei Wan tram

This [the adjudication system established under the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance] is a system fraught with problems. It may lead to a panel that is dominated by those who feel strongly about obscenity and indecency; not those who represent the “standards of morality generally accepted by reasonable members of the community.” In other words, the man on the Shau Kei Wan tram is not represented.

2009 January 16, “HKJA’S SUBMISSION ON THE REVIEW OF THE CONTROL OF OBSCENE AND INDECENT ARTICLES ORDINANCE”, in Hong Kong Journalists Association:

(Hong Kong, law) Any hypothetical reasonable person used by the Courts when considering questions of reasonableness.


Ting Hai effect

Ting Hai effect (plural Ting Hai effects)

Named after Ting Hai, the primary antagonist in the Hong Kong drama The Greed of Man, who was portrayed by Adam Cheng.

(Hong Kong) The phenomena in which whenever a film or a television series starring Hong Kong actor Adam Cheng is released, a sudden and unexplained drop in the stock market takes place.


originating summons

originating summons (plural originating summonses)

(UK, Hong Kong) A legal document that starts a civil action, typically used when there is significant legal dispute instead of factual dispute.


maxicab

(Hong Kong) A minibus used as a shared taxi.