by Céline Geliot
During my first day as a waitress in a French bar in Hong Kong, almost all my non-French speaker colleagues spontaneously answered Je ne parle pas français which means “I don’t speak French” when I told them that I was French. But they lied to me. As days passed, I could hear them speaking French as real French people do. They knew every single French insult. They also used French colloquial expressions, most of the time completely out of their context (which was very funny); probably because they just liked to repeat them for fun without caring about their meanings. I tried to teach them words that could be more useful like un verre or s’il te plaît (“a glass” or “please”) but it did not work.
My conclusion was that when a language draws our attention but is also too difficult to learn, it is indeed funnier and easier to learn some slang words and colloquial expressions.
Here are a few Cantonese slang expressions I have been taught by young Hong Kongers:
1. Diu (屌/𨳒)
Diu is a common Cantonese profanity which expresses dismay and disapproval in the same way that the English word f**k does. Originally, Diu means “penis” but it has evolved as a verb with expressions like Diulei! (F**k you!) and its highly offensive version Diu lei lo mo! (**** your mother!).
2. Puk gaai (仆街)
Puk gaai is a very common Cantonese curse word. It literally means “falling into the street” and has different actual meanings depending on the context:
a. Puk Gaai! I lost my phone.
Damn! I lost my phone.
b. It was in your puk gaai bag the whole time?!
It was in your bloody bag the whole time?!
c. You are such a puk gaai!
You are such a prick!
d. Go puk gaai!
Go to hell!
“PK” is also frequently used in virtual contexts.
3. Gong ni di (講尼啲)
Here are some sentences which Hong Kong locals could respond to with Gong ni di?!:
a. Wow. You look really good in your new jeans.
b. Hey! Have you seen my new iWatch 4?
c. Don’t forget to give me my 500 HKD back tomorrow.
d. Do you know that turtles also have a lower shell called a ‘plastron’?
The literal meaning of this idiom is “say these things”. It is the cantonese way of saying “really?!” or “seriously?!”
4. Sing Leh (升呢)
The slang sing leg comes from the gaming culture and means to “level up”.
It is used in many ways to enthusiastically express a positive change or improvement.
For instance: “I found a job. Sing Leh!”
5. Gau Gung (狗公)
Example of situation:
Sara: Seriously Tom, stop spending all your time on Tinder! You told me last week that you were dating Carla. Remember? the Spanish girl…?
Tom: Carla is not my girlfriend. She is a friend with benefits.
Sara: I was right. You really are a gau gung.
In Cantonese, the customer of a prostitute is called a gau gung. This slang expression is also known to qualifya man who is ready to get all the girls that he can without caring about who they are. It literally means “dog guy” as referring to the idea of a man who just sniffs around everywhere like a dog.
Fun fact: this colloquial expression exists in French slang too! (un mec en chien).
6. Mei mo lui (美魔女)
It means “beautiful witch” and defines the hot older ladies or cougars of Hong Kong.
source: https://www.programme-television.org/news-tv/Malefique-M6-Ensorcelante-Angelina-Jolie-4647583
7. Sau Pei (收皮)
The literal translation of Sau pei is “collect skin”. Close friends use this slang when someone is bragging or bluffing. It is a way to ask him/her to “save it” and stop talking, in a rude manner.
Example:
A: Dude. Do you remember the blond girl we met last weekend?
B: You mean Mary? Of course. Why?
A: I think she’s really into me.
B: Sau pei la!
Addind la makes sure the message is clear.
In other words, sau pei la means: “Stop, just shut the **** up!”
8. Fahn Tohng (饭桶)
Food plays a huge role in the Chinese and Cantonese cultures, so much so that it is also used to insult people! The literal meaning of Fahn Tohng is “rice bucket”. It is used to describe someone who is useless based on the fact that this person only knows how to eat and to hold rice in their stomach and do nothing else
Sources: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/woman-yelling-at-a-cat https://www.shutterstock.com/search/rice+bucket
9. Farn xu (番薯)
Calling somebody a farn xu means calling them a sweet potato. It is not sweet as it means that this person is neither very witty nor very clever.
Sources: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/825143962956628387/?lp=true
https://www.weaverstreetmarket.coop/spicy-sweet-potato-and-kale-saute/
References:
Youtube channels: Carlos Douh, Off the Great Walls, South China Morning Post.
https://sites.google.com/site/hkcantonesedict/home
Language Culture and Society in Hong Kong (and beyond) 
I love these! The best part of any new language is definitely the new and creative profanities.
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This is very impressive! It’s fun to see exchange students managed to learn some of our language. Even though swearwords may not be appropriate for some occasions, it is still an inevitable yet interactive part of the language.
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Swear words are definitely the first things we learn when acquiring a new language. (at least most of my peers do), even the kids I teach know such profanities! Fun Article!
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It is very interesting to see swearwords and slangs in Hong Kong. When I first got in touch with Japanese anime, the words that I first remember are mostly insults. Insults and swearwords area part of a culture which other people are constantly attracted to for some reason. Impressive article. Very fun!
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It is very interesting to see swearwords and insults used in Hong Kong from the eyes of an exchange student. Insults and swearwords are just like a special part of culture which people is normally more attracted to. When I first got in touch with Japanese anime and Korean dramas, the words that I first remember are all common swearwords and insults. It is a very impressive and fun article.
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