Hong Kong English - Hong Kong Vocabulary

Hong Kong Vocabulary

Some words and phrases widely understood in Hong Kong are rare or unheard of elsewhere. These often derive from Chinese, Anglo-Indian or Portuguese/Macanese.

• A 'chop' is a seal or stamp, e.g. a "Company chop" is the seal or stamp of a corporation (It actually originates from colonial Indian English.) It is now used in some other commonwealth countries as a non-official term.
• 'Hong Kong foot' is a literal translation of the Chinese slang term "香港腳" for athlete's foot.
• Hongkongers colloquially use the term "sit-in" to refer to "academic auditing".
• A Tai-Pan (or 'taipan') is a term used in early 20th century for a business executive of a large corporation.
• An amah is a term used in early 20th century for a live-in servant (from Macanese/Portuguese- ama nurse).
• "Open the door, see the mountain" is a direct translation of the Chinese phrase "開門見山", which roughly means "go straight to the point" in a conversation.
• "Add oil" is a direct translation of the Chinese phrase Jiayou, and is used to encourage someone to put more effort into a certain task.
• A 'shroff' is a cashier in a hospital, a government office or a car park (parking garage).
• "Godown" is a warehouse. From the Malay "gudang".
• A 'body check' is a medical checkup (medical examination), not a contact with an opponent from the front (due to literal translation from Chinese).
• "Outlook" is often (mis)understood as "appearance". The noun "look" or "appearance" ("表") in Cantonese is commonly preceded by the character for "outer" ("外").
• Jetso ("著數") is sometimes used to mean discount or special offer. Also meaning advantage in a lot of cases.
• "Over the puddle" is used as reference to the other side of Victoria Harbour; e.g. "This is Kowloon, Hong Kong Island is there over the puddle." (Analogous to referring to the Atlantic Ocean as ʼthe pondʼ.)
• Nullah is a concrete-lined canal or an re-inforced creek bed used to contain run-off. Nullah entered the English language from Hindi. The word nullah is used almost exclusively in Hong Kong.
• Pitch -as in "soccer pitch"- means "field." Soccer pitches in Hong Kong are frequently topped with concrete.
• Hea means fooling around.
• Chok means posing in a delibrate manner, mostly referred to Hong Kong singer Raymond Lam, whose is best known for making a pose wherever he is.