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Thread: help! hong kong slang terms

  1. #1
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    Default help! hong kong slang terms

    does any1 know how what "giving the green hat to another person to wear" mean? i hear it a lot in heart of greed

    also what is "lulu"?
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    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LuNaR View Post
    does any1 know how what "giving the green hat to another person to wear" mean? i hear it a lot in heart of greed
    This means that a man's wife is cheating on him. If a man is "wearing a green hat," he needs to be jealous, because some other man is seducing his wife.

    also what is "lulu"?
    That sounds more like American English slang than Hong Kong slang. It means "a serious problem."

    Hong Kong slang is very "of the moment," and evolves quickly. Some slang terms that are popular for a few years are no longer used just a few years later. For example, during the late 1970s and early 1980s, one popular slang term in Hong Kong was "ah tze ah tzor," which means being fussy or troublesome. For a while during the late 70s and early 80s, you couldn't watch a modern Hong Kong film or TV drama without hearing the phrase, and you'd probably hear it fairly often on the Hong Kong streets as well. Since then, however, the phrase has fallen out of favor and I don't think I've heard anyone utter it since 1985 or so.

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    Green hat = cuckolded as Ken stated.

    Haven't heard the lulu one before.
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    Senior Member Ian Liew's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng View Post
    This means that a man's wife is cheating on him. If a man is "wearing a green hat," he needs to be jealous, because some other man is seducing his wife.
    I remember bursting my sides laughing when I read a translation of ROCH on SPCnet which stated Yang Guo was riding the Condor wearing a green hat - it was a 'ching koon' or "green headdress/crown" but somehow the word "luk mou" just sprang to mind!


    Hong Kong slang is very "of the moment," and evolves quickly. Some slang terms that are popular for a few years are no longer used just a few years later. For example, during the late 1970s and early 1980s, one popular slang term in Hong Kong was "ah tze ah tzor," which means being fussy or troublesome. For a while during the late 70s and early 80s, you couldn't watch a modern Hong Kong film or TV drama without hearing the phrase, and you'd probably hear it fairly often on the Hong Kong streets as well. Since then, however, the phrase has fallen out of favor and I don't think I've heard anyone utter it since 1985 or so.
    It was so popular it was even incorporated into a famous song - Alan Tam's "Till Death Do Us Scare" or Siu Sang Pa Pa. Now that you mention it, I haven't heard it in HK TV for quite a while, although it's still used in Malaysia, mainly by the aunties, really...

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    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ian Liew View Post
    I remember bursting my sides laughing when I read a translation of ROCH on SPCnet which stated Yang Guo was riding the Condor wearing a green hat - it was a 'ching koon' or "green headdress/crown" but somehow the word "luk mou" just sprang to mind!
    Yeah. Laviathan and I had a good laugh over that one once too.



    Quote Originally Posted by Ian Liew View Post
    It was so popular it was even incorporated into a famous song - Alan Tam's "Till Death Do Us Scare" or Siu Sang Pa Pa. Now that you mention it, I haven't heard it in HK TV for quite a while, although it's still used in Malaysia, mainly by the aunties, really...
    It's probably an age group thing. Those "aunties" were probably young women in their twenties back when "ah tze ah tzor" was all the rage. They've retained it from their younger years, but no teenagers today would say it. Unless they've heard it used by older relatives or in older films/series they've watched, contemporary Hong Kong teens or twentysomethings would probably look at someone in a funny manner if that person were to say, "ah tze ah tzor." Most teens wouldn't know what it means, and even those who do would probably think, "God...that's SOOOO 80s!'

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ian Liew View Post
    It was so popular it was even incorporated into a famous song - Alan Tam's "Till Death Do Us Scare" or Siu Sang Pa Pa.
    i remember that song! hee hee, really catchy...gotta go find it again.

    for the longest time, i didn't know what "wear red shoes" means.
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    i see thanks guys
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    is being an "electric light bulb" like being the 3rd party?
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    Quote Originally Posted by LuNaR View Post
    is being an "electric light bulb" like being the 3rd party?
    Kind of. It doesn't mean that you're trying to get involved in someone else's relationship.

    It's usually applied in situations where a couple is out with someone. This individual sticks out like a sore thumb (or shines like an electric light bulb) because if he/she wasn't there, the couple could do more "couple-y" things. The slang is most often used to describe an individual but I have heard it used to describe a group with a couple/couples.

    Hope that makes sense.
    Last edited by Hoju!; 06-15-07 at 02:10 PM.

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    I don't understand how 三 put together with 八 is a curse word against women?

    Can somebody explain that to me?
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    Quote Originally Posted by Suet Seung View Post
    I don't understand how 三 put together with 八 is a curse word against women?

    Can somebody explain that to me?
    san ba, as i know, its just a term that means foolish or somethng like that..
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    lulu is more like silly.. it is hong kong.. hehhe
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    it's funny, i'm not from hong kong, but i understand all the slang here, from the 80's slang to probably what we have now. maybe i just watch too many tvb series.

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    Quote Originally Posted by shortsight View Post
    it's funny, i'm not from hong kong, but i understand all the slang here, from the 80's slang to probably what we have now. maybe i just watch too many tvb series.
    lol.. if u r from a canto speaking family, there's no reaosn why won't u understand it cos most tend to 'follow' Hk canto anyway..
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