Category Archives: B

People-to-people; between the peoples (of two countries)

Bîn-kan

Tâi-ôan kap Bí-kok hun-hióng chhin-bi̍t ê bîn-kan koan-hē.

Taiwan and the United States enjoy a close relationship between their two peoples.

Become aware of things, start to understand things

Bat tāi-chì

(“know stuff”)

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Góa chū bat tāi-chì kàu taⁿ, iáu m̄ bat kìⁿ kòe chit-khóan tāi-chì.

From the time I can remember until now, I’ve never seen such a thing.

Trading partner

 Bō∙-e̍k8 tông-phōaⁿ, bō∙-e̍k8 tâng-phōaⁿ

[Often pronounced mō∙-e̍k8 nowadays]

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Tiong-kok sī Tâi-oân ê tē-it tōa bō∙-e̍k8 tông-phōaⁿ.

China is Taiwan’s largest trading partner.

You should use people’s proper titles

Bē-sái bô tōa bô sè

[It won't do to "have no big and no small".]

It’s better than nothing

Bô hî hê mā hó

 

[Literally: "If there's no fish, then shrimp will do."]

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Chòe lí kóng, hôaiⁿ-ti̍t bô hî hê mā hó, án-chóaⁿ siá sī góa ê tāi-chì.

Say it however you’d like, but in any case it’s better than nothing, so how it’s written is for me to worry about. 

 

Almost exactly alike

Beh kâng-á beh kâng

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Siang-seⁿ-á-kíaⁿ ê bīn-hêng lóng beh kâng-á beh kâng.

Twins’ faces are almost exactly alike.

 

Myth, misconception

Bê-su

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Sīu Hàn-bûn kàu-io̍k8 ê it-poaⁿ tì-sek-hūn-chú in-ūi Hàn-jî ê bê-su soah bô-hoat-tō· chiap-sīu Tâi-gí Lô-má-jī.

Most intellectuals who received a Mandarin education cannot accept Taiwanese Romanization due to the myth of the Chinese character.

The masses; proletariat

Phó·-lô-tāi-chiòng; bû-sán kai-kip

(This) doesn’t concern you

Bô lí ê tāi-chì

The low-hanging fruit have already been picked

Hó bán ê koé-chí, lóng í-keng bán liaú ah.

[Hó bán ê koé-chí literally means "fruit that is easy to pick"]