Kut

Kut, which means ‘bone,’ is added to words when describing someone’s innate character. Usually negative.  Examples include:

Pîn-toāⁿ-kut (lazybones)

Khit-chia̍h-kut (moocher; beggar)

Chha̍t-á-kut (thief)

Know how to deal with (someone); have someone’s number

Ū (lâng) ê hoat

≠ Bô (lâng) ê hoat

—————-

Goá ū lí hoat, lí bô goá hoat

I know how to handle you, but you don’t know how to handle me.

Meaningless; ambiguous; inappropriate; neither fish nor fowl

Gō͘ sì saⁿ

I chin ài kóng chi̍t koá gō͘ sì saⁿ ê oē.

She likes to say stupid stuff.

Ū oē tng-thâu tng-bīn kóng, m̄ thang kha-chhng-āu chiah lâi the gō͘ sì saⁿ.

If you’ve got something to say, say it to my face. Don’t go talking crap behind my back.

Literally: Five four three

A pushover

Chi̍t-chiah nńg-kha-hê

Literally: “a weak-legged prawn”

Boring, pointless; having nothing to do

Bô gī-niū

Literally: “No handicrafts (that one makes to pass the time)”

——–

Li nā kám-kak siōng pan bô gī-niū, kui-khì sî sî leh soah.

If you think work is that boring, then just quit and get it over with.

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Chi̍t ka chi̍t toā û jī

Literally: “One plus one is bigger than two”

Marry a girl after getting her pregnant

Seng chiūⁿ chhia, āu pó͘ phiò

Seng chiūⁿ chhia, āu bé phiò

Literally: “First get on the train, and then add to / buy your ticket”

Have it both ways, have one’s cake and eat it, too; play both sides; unable to decide

Chi̍t kha hō͘-tēng-lāi, chi̍t kha hō͘-tēng-goā

Literally: “One leg inside the threshold, one leg outside the threshold.”

Crocodile tears

The̍h kiuⁿ-bú, chhit ba̍k-sái — ké khàu

Literally: “Take a piece of ginger and rub one’s eyes (with it): false tears”

This is another example of a kek-kut-ōe.

Can take a lot of crap; forbearing

Pak-tn̂g chin khoa (“Have a broad stomach/guts”)

As in other East Asian languages, pak-tn̂g is used in a number of expressions about a person’s character:

Pak-tn̂g sè (“have a narrow/small stomach or guts” = whiny, can’t take much hardship or discomfort)
Pak-tn̂g chhián (“shallow stomach or guts” = superficial, shallow), and its opposite
Pak-tn̂g chhim (“deep stomach or guts”)