Tâi-oân Chè-chō

Entries categorized as ‘Relationships’

Dirty old man

December 4, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Or, a man who goes out with a woman far younger then he”

Lāu gû chia̍h iù-koaⁿ-sún

Literally: An old bull eating tender bamboo shoots.

Categories: Proverbs · Relationships

Burn one’s bridges

December 1, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Kiô kòe, kóai-á tàn tiāu

Literally: Throwing away the walking-stick after crossing the bridge.

Categories: Proverbs · Relationships

Don’t be such a pushover

November 18, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Nńg thô͘ chhim ku̍t

Literally: “soft soil gets dug deep”

I.e., if you’re too nice, people will take advantage of you

Categories: Idioms · Relationships · Work

Can take a lot of crap; forbearing

November 9, 2009 · Leave a Comment

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”)

Categories: Figures of speech · Relationships

My old lady

October 20, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Gún tau hit-ê chú-pn̄g7 — ê

Literally: the one that makes the food at my house

Categories: Family · Insults · Relationships

Shady, sketchy (people)

October 7, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Put-sam-put-sù (ê)

Example:

Kau-pôe tio̍h8 chi̍t8-kóa put-sam-put-sù ê pêng-iú

Hang out with a bad crowd; associate with some shady characters

Categories: Insults · Relationships

Mixed-race (person)

July 18, 2009 · Leave a Comment

From least offensive to most offensive:

Hūn-hiat ê [“mixed-blood”]
Lām-hoeh [“mixed-up blood”]
pòaⁿ-hóng-á [?]

Of course, there’s always “mutt”:
cha̍p8-chéng-káu
Literally: “dog of ten kinds”

Update: Added the missing eight tone marker to chap8-cheng2-kau2. As you may have noticed, I’ve been having trouble getting the eighth tone to show up in WordPress lately.

Also, I just realized the chap8 of chap8-cheng2-kau2 could also be–and probably is–the chap8 meaning “mixed, confused,” as in hok8-chap8.

Categories: Family · Insults · Relationships · Society

Words can hurt

July 13, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Ōe ū saⁿ chiam la̍k8 kak, kak kak ē siong lâng

Literally: Words have three points and six horns, and each horn can hurt someone.

Categories: Proverbs · Relationships

“She’s got a nice personality”

June 28, 2009 · Leave a Comment

(In other words, she’s not very pretty)

 

I seⁿ-liáu chiok an-chôan

She looks very safe.

 

Seⁿ-liáu hiân-hōe

(She) looks hospitable.

 

Siú kau-thong ê kui-chek

Follows all the traffic rules

 

Some more here.

Categories: Insults · Relationships

Pick up girls, hit on girls

June 24, 2009 · Leave a Comment

phāⁿ chhit-á

Categories: Ph · Relationships