CantonBee

🐶 Why does Cantonese have so many “dogs”?

Here are four common expressions:

🐕 單身狗 (daan1 san1 gau2)
Literal meaning: single dog
Meaning: a single person (often used humorously or self-deprecatingly).

🐕 狗公 (gau2 gung1)
Literal meaning: male dog
Meaning: a pervert, lecher, or “simp” who behaves in a creepy or overly desperate way towards women.

🐕 狗男女 (gau2 naam4 neoi5)
Literal meaning: dog man and dog woman
Meaning: an immoral couple, especially one involved in cheating or behaving dishonourably.

🐕 狗咬狗骨 (gau2 ngaau5 gau2 gwat1)
Literal meaning: dog bite dog bone
Meaning: two equally bad people fighting each other.

😂 Cantonese really loves using 狗 (gau2, “dog”) in slang!

Can you think of any other Cantonese expressions with 狗? Let us know in the comments! 👇

#廣東話 #粵語 #單身狗 #狗公 #狗男女 #狗咬狗骨

🐭🐢 老鼠拉龜 (lou5 syu2 laai1 gwai1)

Literal meaning: Mouse pulls tortoise.

But don’t picture a mouse actually dragging a tortoise! 😆

This classic Cantonese saying describes a situation where there’s no way to solve a problem or no idea where to start. Just like a mouse trying to pull a tortoise with its hard shell… it’s simply impossible!

💬 Example:
A: 電腦突然壞咗，但係聽日要交功課！
Din6 nou5 dat6 jin4 waai6 zo2, daan6 hai6 ting1 jat6 jiu3 gaau1 gung1 fo3!
(My computer suddenly broke, but my assignment is due tomorrow!)

B: 嘩，真係老鼠拉龜喎！
Waa3, zan1 hai6 lou5 syu2 laai1 gwai1 wo3!
(Wow, there’s really no way to solve that!)

Have you ever been in a 老鼠拉龜 situation? Tell us in the comments! 👇

#老鼠拉龜

🐥 雞仔聲 (gai1 zai2 seng1)

Literal meaning: chick’s voice 🐥

In Cantonese, 雞仔聲 describes a very high-pitched, thin, squeaky voice. It’s often used to describe someone’s natural speaking voice.

💬 Example:
佢把雞仔聲好尖好刺耳呀！
Keoi5 baa2 gai1 zai2 seng1 hou2 zim1 hou2 ci3 ji5 aa3!
Their voice is so high-pitched and piercing!

❓Do you know anyone with a 雞仔聲? 😆

#廣東話 #粵語 #雞仔聲

🐦 鵝公喉 🗣️

In Cantonese, 鵝公喉 (ngo4 gung1 hau4) describes someone with a raspy, hoarse, or gravelly voice, like a male goose!🪿

📝 Example:
佢把聲鵝公喉咁，好難聽。
His voice is so raspy. It’s really unpleasant to listen to.

💬 Do you know anyone with a 鵝公喉? Tag them… or maybe don’t! 🤭

Have you ever heard any words in daily conversation 🗣️ different from what you leaned in textbook 📕?

🇭🇰 Did you know this about Hong Kong Cantonese?

We say:
☀️ 早晨 zou2 san4 (Good morning)
🌙 早抖 zou2 tau2 (Good night)

…but we almost never say “Good afternoon” or “Good evening” in everyday conversation! 😆

Instead, we usually just greet people with:
👋 Hello

Have you 射波 today? ⚽️⚽️⚽️

射波 se6 bo1 ⚽️
Literally: shoot the ball
Cantonese slang: call a sick leave but actually you are not sick at all!🤫🤫🤫

👂 Can you hear the difference between 火車【fo2 ce1】 and 貨車【fo3 ce1】?

👇 Vote 🗳️ below!

How many times did you have to listen? 😆

Part 2 of our 「講大話」 series is here! 🤭🍴

Some Hong Kong food names are… well… a little dishonest. 😂

You’d expect one thing… but get something completely different!

How many of these fooled you? 😆
Which “lying” food name should we cover in Part 3? 👇

#廣東話 #香港 #港式美食