Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Something about Penang Hokkien again

In Penang Hokkien, certain expressions cannot be translated into Mandarin word for word. They are peculiar to Penang Hokkien only.

I am going to give some examples of such expressions below.
Example 1: nia tneah [only]
PH: Yi gia tampok nia tneah.
E: He got a little only.

Example 2 ban chia [wait a minute]
PH: Ban chia, gua bo ho koh.
E: Wait a minute, I am not ready yet.

Example 3: too too ho [just nice]]
PH: Chit Lay lui too too ho kau gua yong.
E: This money is just nice for me as it is sufficient for my use.

Example 4: mi kneah [things]
PH: Chit lay si ha mit mi kneah?
E: What is this thing?

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