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)

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”

Pearls before swine (II)

Tùi gû toâⁿ khîm

Literally: “Play the harp for a cow”

Lazy-ass (person); lazy good-for-nothing

Sí chē, oa̍h chia̍h

Literally: “Sit there dead, (but) come alive to eat.”

Greenhorn, newbie

Chhài-chiáu-á (“vegetable bird”)

Antonym: Lāu-chiáu (“old bird”)

Example:

I tú lâi sî sī chi̍t ê chhài-chiáu-á, bô nn̄g saⁿ goe̍h-ji̍t piàn chò lāu-chiáu ah.

When she first came, she didn’t know what she was doing, but after only two or three months, she became a pro.

Like a frog in a well

Kó͘-chéⁿ chúi-ke, m̄ chai thiⁿ lōa tōa

Literally: a frog in a well doesn’t know how big the sky is.

(i.e., “ignorant of the wider world or bigger picture.”)

Anyone; any Tom, Dick, or Harry

A-niau a-káu

Hiān-chú-sî a-niau a-káu lóng khó ē tio̍h tāi-ha̍k.

These days, anybody can get into college.

Just for show; just a pretty face

Hó-khòaⁿ-thâu

Bîn-chìn-tóng ê hāu-pó͘ chí put kò sī hó-khòaⁿ-thâu, bô chèng-tī ê keng-giām.

The DPP’s candidate is just a pretty face, and has no political experience.

My old lady

Gún tau hit-ê chú-pn̄g7 — ê

Literally: the one that makes the food at my house