Cantonese Slangs

Came across this on a website.(not mine)Clicking on the post title will link u to the original page whr i got this. Someone translated it to english meanings.

菲士
fei see

This is supposed to sound like the English word "face", as to saving face, or to give me face. Face is a very important thing to the Chinese, it's hard for me to explain if you have no idea what it is, so i'll give an example... if a gentleman holds up his wine glass to you and offers to "clink" with your glass, and you refuse, you're not giving him face! The term is exactly the same as 面子 (meen zi).

唔该
ng goy (or goi?)

Simply means thanks, im sure most already know this. If you want to say thank you very very much, you add 晒 (saai) at the end.

叻
lek

A simple term that is used to praise someone. If you're just using it in general terms, you should say 你好叻 (nei hou lek) you are very good, very skilled, did very well, etc. If you are praising someone younger than you, like a child, for a boy you can say 叻仔 (lek jaai) which means "attaboy!", girl is 叻女 (lek nui) "good going girl!". An example would be, you can't open a jar, so you give it to some kid and he helps you open it, you can pat him on the head or shoulder and say 叻仔！ (okay, poor example, a better one would be if he won some kind of competition or scored high on a school test)

湿湿碎
sap sap sui

One of my favorite terms, it means small matter, and is a term used arrogantly. Usually used when someone gives you a job or errand, or asks you to help him/her on something, and you feel it is a small thing or very easy, you say 湿湿碎. Add 啦 (lah) at the end, and wave your hand at the air, for cooler effect.

搞掂
gaau dim (deem?)

This term simply means "job done", or I'm done. Usually used when you're finished with an errand, or a favor someone asked you to do, you brush off your hands and say 搞掂. Mostly heard from service people like plumbers, electricians, said after they've done fixing your house. Again, 啦 (lah) is commonly added at the end.

麻麻哋
mah mah dei

This term means "so-so", for example when someone asks you if you liked that food. However, it is more and more commonly used to describe something as "not very good", or downright poor, but used in good manner (like your wife's cooking!). Very commonly used along with rocking your palm like a boat.

黐线
chi seen (sin?)

Again most probably know this, it simply means crazy. 黐 (chi) means sticky, 线 (seen) means a line or string, put together i'm pretty sure it is used to describe that two nerves in your brain has stuck together, making you crazy.

波士
boh si

It means "boss", even the pronunciation is similar, bo-see.

鬼佬
gwai lo

Meaning foreigner, im sure 99% of foreigners nowadays are familiar with this

冚家铲
haam ga chaan

Well this is a swear word, but i guess there's no harm in learning actually, im not too sure about the origins, 冚 (haam) means all/everyone, 家 (ga) im sure many knows this means family, and finally 铲 (chaan) means to shovel. In cantonese it means to die (to shovel your grave), so put together, it is used to swear to someone that their entire family will die! @.@

炒鱿鱼
chaau you yu

First word is fry, last two words means squid. What is fried squid, you ask? It means you are fired! It is believed that the origin came from the image of that back in the old days, when someone was fired, he would roll up his bed sheets and leave. The image was probably linked to squid being fried in hot oil, it would roll up!

顶硬上
ding ngaang sheung

A fairly obscure slang, it means to stick with someone or something until the very end. 顶 (ding) means to push or to stop something from falling down, 硬上 (ngaang sheung) means to push something hard or difficult, upwards. Like dealing with a tricky situation. This term came from a song sang by labor workers in Hong Kong a long time ago, their jobs were usually to lift heavy things at the harbor, so they sang the song through difficult times. In modern day, it is not used that commonly, but an example would be when your company is in a difficult situation, your boss is asking you and your co-workers if they want to jump ship, and you feel that you still have a fighting chance and decide to stick with him until the very end... so you say BOSS! 顶硬上!

识嘟
sik doo

识 (sik) means to know, to understand, and 嘟 {doo} is the sound of the english word "do". It simply means "you know what to do". A very commonly used term, usually used in "obvious" situations. Let's say your friend won some money through the lottery or horse racing, in that situation you would tell him "识嘟啦" (sik doo lah)... "you know what to do!" (obviously to treat everyone to dinner! a more amusing example would be, when a spoiled teenager wants to go out but has no money, he would stick out his hand at his father and say "识嘟啦"... although I suppose in some places like England, he would get a nice swat rather than a currency