Favorite asian sayings or phrases

[Faithless]

I'm not Philipino, but I hear the Philipino's around here say --

* Which one?
* (And) My friend

quite often.

The "which one" phrase is said kind of fast with the "wh" seemingly switched in the pronounciation; i.e., "hwich one"?

[angel nympho]

"Close the light"

[AngryABCGirl]

Nothing beats Ay Yah.

Loudly and obnoxiously. across two shopping aisles.

[Chester]

An example:

"Your friend Adam -- she's very nice."

[YuheiCarreau]

I think "my friend" is just something all foreigners say. It must take the place of a phrase that English lacks, or perhaps some weird quirk of our language that makes them think that "my friend" is an appropriate thing to call people... Anyways, I've been called that by German, Italian, Spanish, Portugese, Hungarian, Russian, Albanian, and French people, but never been called that by a non-European foreigner. And my Jewish friend says "close the light" or "shut the light" all the time.

[applehead]

asking to "close the light?"
is so much easier than saying
"can you turn the lights off?"

hjhehehehe

[Tao]

bok choy

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Tao@May 15 2003, 11:13 PM
bok choy
you know that's also used as an english word.

[SunWuKong]

favorite asian saying: ¤@¾K¸Ñ¤d·T (yi zui jie qian chou) - one drunk solve thousand worry

[tvbdude]

la!

[teaz0r]

in singapore we say, "off the light"
and "can sit or not?"

anything with "ai"
ai yah
ai hea
ai sut
ai mah
ai kuay
ai narok

[moschikat]

kuay. (penis)
sud. ("animal")
yet mae. (mother lover)

[Chester]

I've always found the literal translation of X-gwei to be hilarious.

And I constantly get a kick out of Chinese in American who refer to non-Chinese Americans as "wai guo ren."

A white friend of mine is always on the look-out for any opportunity to use the phrase "ham sup lo."

[DragonKnight]

chi sin

[blue hoodie]

aiya!!!

[Fireblade]

dew!! :lol:

[BeTheReds]

Man with hand in pants feel cocky all day.

Ones I have heard:

The rain is coming.

Do you want die? (in response to some kind of teasing or light hearted insult)

I loves you.

Let's do sex.

[applehead]

Originally posted by BeTheReds@May 16 2003, 05:24 AM

Do you want die? (in response to some kind of teasing or light hearted insult)


they seem to dislike using prepositions.

[MellowDrama]

interchanging he/she

It pisses me off especially when the conversation is about a guy and a girl. I just lose the plot.

[Napoleon Chynamite]

from my Chinese friends:

aiya!!! (omg)
diu lei lo mo (fuck your mother?)
hum ga chan (bastard?)
(buncha cantonese cuss words I can't imitate)
(buncha mandarin cuss words I can't imitate)
ni chu na li (not correct pinyin) (where you goin)
qai dien qai dien! (faster)
close the light
i eat you! (while playing checkers, I really hate this shit)


from Korean friends:

aigoo!! (omg) (is this only a older people kinda thing?)
chenjang (shit)
sssssshibal (fuck?)
ommo.....(just from women)
pabo pabo (idiot/dumbass)
noogoo/nooga keurae?! (who says?/who said that?!)
mwo hanya? mwo haneungoya?! (what're u doin?!)
mwo-ra-go?? (what'd u say?)
aiiish chinccha/chongmal (followed by phrase)
aaaiiiish
'I never don't go there'
oppaaaaaaaa!!! (just from women)
FOB's always hafta tag on an extra sound or vowel-like sound onto the ends of words such as 'change' or 'mark' and such which have none

from Japanese people (seems to be only girls) but not my friends since I don't kno many Japanese people nor do I speak any Japanese beyond basic greetings:

kawaii!!!!!!!!
......something something 'baka' something something

from Vietnamese people:

um aside from 'do mah' I don't have any favorite phrases :D

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by FrozenPizza@May 16 2003, 01:41 PM
hum ga chan (bastard?)

that's telling your whole family to die


Originally posted by FrozenPizza@May 16 2003, 01:41 PM
um aside from 'do mah' I don't have any favorite phrases

i think it's spelt "dụmá"

err... i used Unicode encoding (more specifically, UTF-8) to type in the accented letters. so make sure you turn that on in order to see the word correctly.

[Shuriken]

Anything that begins with "Confucius says..."

:D

[luv]

Cantonese

"ja sui" - sqeeze water - to pee
chuen - old school way of saying cocky?
leung - tacky?

lang gia, lang mui - kid (male, female respectively)
of course all the colorful words you can put before that:
sei (die), chau (smelly/bad tempered), etc.

eaten more salt than you've eaten rice - momma' s favorite

In taishan
Everyone is a "nui" - generally girl (no matter boy or girl)

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by luv@May 16 2003, 02:16 PM
In taishan
Everyone is a "nui" - generally girl (no matter boy or girl)
actually a boy would be a doi.

[Faithless]

I've heard a lot of those Cantonese phrases, but there's a one word phrase that sums up a lot of frustration or disgust --

"Heyyyyy!"

Said very guteral (not like the Fonz from Happy Days).

I remember my friends late mom used to scold him a lot in Cantonese, then finish up with "heyyyyy!"

It's very useful when speaking to my kids. :D

(That and "sei la", but I consider this to be rude.)

[SunWuKong]

would it make me a koreanphile if i start saying "aigo" around korean girls?

[luv]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@May 16 2003, 12:19 PM
Originally posted by luv@May 16 2003, 02:16 PM
In taishan
Everyone is a "nui" - generally girl (no matter boy or girl)
actually a boy would be a doi.
that reminds me...

sei doi bao

-- die child bun?

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by luv@May 16 2003, 02:30 PM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@May 16 2003, 12:19 PM
Originally posted by luv@May 16 2003, 02:16 PM
In taishan
Everyone is a "nui" - generally girl (no matter boy or girl)
actually a boy would be a doi.
that reminds me...

sei doi bao

-- die child bun?
hahhah, yeah that would be the literal word-for-word translation. but it just really means that you're a bad kid (male).

[DragonKnight]

sugoi! :D

[sOKaLiBoY]

Originally posted by DragonKnight@May 16 2003, 12:27 PM
sugoi! :D
hahaha i use that all the time

[Faithless]

Originally posted by DragonKnight@May 16 2003, 11:27 AM
sugoi! :D
That's the name for line of bicycle products, too.

http://www.sugoi.ca/ (http://www.sugoi.ca/)

A-tsu-i!

[enygma]

mok bhaji-geh ghidal-lih neh.--> waiting until his neck pops out
noohn bhaji-geh ghidal-lih neh. -->waiting until his eye pops out

yeah, it's weird but it sounds way better in korean. basically means that the other person is getting so anxious and impatient that his throat/eye is about to pop out from the waiting.

also, my favorites: aigo, aish

[Faithless]

Of course, you don't hear this but at Japanese dinner tables --

itadakimasu - said at the beginning of a meal, and is roughly "bon appetit".

Gochiso-sama - said at the end of a meal, and is rougly "thanks for sharing the meal".

[DragonKnight]

Originally posted by DoggieBreath@May 16 2003, 11:47 AM
That's the name for line of bicycle products, too.

http://www.sugoi.ca/ (http://www.sugoi.ca/)
Yep. In my avatar I'm wearing one of their beenies. :D

[Faithless]

Originally posted by DragonKnight@May 16 2003, 12:02 PM
Originally posted by DoggieBreath@May 16 2003, 11:47 AM
That's the name for line of bicycle products, too.

http://www.sugoi.ca/ (http://www.sugoi.ca/)
Yep. In my avatar I'm wearing one of their beenies. :D
Yeahhhh! The name where's well. Unlike Huffy. :blink:

[Napoleon Chynamite]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@May 16 2003, 10:27 AM
would it make me a koreanphile if i start saying "aigo" around korean girls?
better yet, say it around Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese girls and see what happens

[BeTheReds]

Shippal! (can also be shortened to "18!" when chatting online.)

[Faithless]

Originally posted by BeTheReds@May 16 2003, 01:43 PM
Shippal! (can also be shortened to "18!" when chatting online.)
wazitmean?

[YuheiCarreau]

Originally posted by DoggieBreath@May 16 2003, 02:01 PM
Of course, you don't hear this but at Japanese dinner tables --

itadakimasu - said at the beginning of a meal, and is roughly "bon appetit".

Gochiso-sama - said at the end of a meal, and is rougly "thanks for sharing the meal".
That's not sooo common... I mean, a lot of families just begin a meal with an "os!". I remember they made us do it at every meal in Japanese camp, though.

[sandra]

cantonese:

sai mang = literally - to air one's life. bragging. leslie cheung liked to use this saying.

mah sei lok dei haang = if your horse dies, walk.

laam yi jee joi sei fong = something about boys being square. i actually have no idea what it means. swk?

ngau mm yum seur mm gum duk ngau tau dai = if a cow doesn't want to drink water, you can't push his head down. this saying is often used to ridicule cheaters who use alcohol as an excuse.

daap choh seen = literally - wrong number. meaning - i don't agree with what you're saying.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by kasia@May 16 2003, 09:58 PM
laam yi jee joi sei fong = something about boys being square.  i actually have no idea what it means.  swk?

ngau mm yum seur mm gum duk ngau tau dai = if a cow doesn't want to drink water, you can't push his head down.  this saying is often used to ridicule cheaters who use alcohol as an excuse.
HAHHAHHAH!!! you silly little johk sing mui! :lol: :P


the sei fong in laam yi jee joi sei fong doesn't mean square! it means "four corners"! as in wide open space, the world, etc etc. it means that men live in the wide world, men don't worry about the little things in life. hahah i literally laughed out loud at this. you should tell your mother what you thought it was! this is as bad as when my HK friend asked me if "no woman no cry" means that all women cry. hahhah!


and ngau ng yum seui ng gum duk ngau tau dai means that sometimes you can't make people do what they don't want to do.

[sandra]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@May 16 2003, 06:38 PM
you silly little johk sing mui!    :lol:  :P
dahp choh seen.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by kasia@May 16 2003, 11:13 PM
dahp choh seen.
hehheh you are too funny. :D

[tvbdude]

I like to say diu hai(fuck pussy) all the time.

[Napoleon Chynamite]

Originally posted by tvbdude@May 16 2003, 08:24 PM
I like to say diu hai(fuck pussy) all the time.
doesn't 'hai' mean crab??





oh wait.....i get it now

[Azn Retribution]

no flip things here.. so I'll throw in some...

close the light...
"aircon" instead of ac or air conditioning
"psst! hoy!" to get someones attention
"ballpen" instead of pen
"ano" instead of what
"ay nako or ay jusko" - expression like Aiya
"aray" instead of ouch, prouncouned Oh-Rye
"comfort room" instead of restroom
"for take out" instead of to go
"OA" for overacting, "DOM" for dirty old man and "TNT" for, well, you know.
brown-out" instead of "black-out."
"Uy!" instead of "Oops."

[Faithless]

Originally posted by YuheiCarreau@May 16 2003, 05:48 PM
Originally posted by DoggieBreath@May 16 2003, 02:01 PM
Of course, you don't hear this but at Japanese dinner tables --

itadakimasu - said at the beginning of a meal, and is roughly "bon appetit".

Gochiso-sama - said at the end of a meal, and is rougly "thanks for sharing the meal".
That's not sooo common... I mean, a lot of families just begin a meal with an "os!". I remember they made us do it at every meal in Japanese camp, though.
Os? Isn't that what they say at Sumo camp, too? :rolleyes:

[YuheiCarreau]

Originally posted by DoggieBreath@May 17 2003, 06:29 PM
Originally posted by YuheiCarreau@May 16 2003, 05:48 PM
Originally posted by DoggieBreath@May 16 2003, 02:01 PM
Of course, you don't hear this but at Japanese dinner tables --

itadakimasu - said at the beginning of a meal, and is roughly "bon appetit".

Gochiso-sama - said at the end of a meal, and is rougly "thanks for sharing the meal".
That's not sooo common... I mean, a lot of families just begin a meal with an "os!". I remember they made us do it at every meal in Japanese camp, though.
Os? Isn't that what they say at Sumo camp, too? :rolleyes:
Yeah, but in that case it's more like a military "hooah" or whatever. Saying "os" at the dinnertable isn't more formal or anything, especially compared to "itadakimasu", but because of the context it becomes more... Ritualized, I suppose, and less of a confirmation noise.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Azn Retribution@May 17 2003, 05:40 PM
no flip things here.. so I'll throw in some...

"aircon" instead of ac or air conditioning
"for take out" instead of to go
these two are filipino sayings?
but i say them all the time too...

[BeTheReds]

Originally posted by DoggieBreath@May 17 2003, 09:05 AM
wazitmean?
It's like.. the worst of cursewords.

[BeTheReds]

Originally posted by Azn Retribution@May 18 2003, 06:40 AM

"aircon" instead of ac or air conditioning

"ballpen" instead of pen

These are probably Japanese in origin.

[tvbdude]

Originally posted by kasia@May 16 2003, 11:13 PM
dahp choh seen.
cute :P

[tvbdude]

Great chinese proverbs site (http://www.openface.ca/~dstephen/chprov.htm#listtop)

[537]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@May 17 2003, 05:19 PM
Originally posted by Azn Retribution@May 17 2003, 05:40 PM
no flip things here.. so I'll throw in some...

"aircon" instead of ac or air conditioning
"for take out" instead of to go
these two are filipino sayings?
but i say them all the time too...
I don't think it's just the 'aircon' that they say as much as how thick of an accent is used....