| Order |
Pronunciation |
Expression |
Explanations |
When pronounced in Mandarin & Mandarin counterpart(s) |
| 12 |
ho1tao3 niao1qi1bhui4 |
虎頭 貓鼠尾 |
Start with the tiger's head but yet end with a mouse's tail. Something that starts big but ends small. |
[hu3tou2 mao1shu3wei3] “虎頭 蛇尾。” |
| 92 |
ho5sin3 |
雨神 |
Fly, flies. |
[yu3shen1] “蒼蠅。” |
| 57 |
hu4 si4 lao5 pue3 lang3 lao3 mia3 |
虎 死 留 皮 人 留 名 |
Quotation from the long poem "Kuan4 She4 Bhun3 [勸世文] (Advice to the World)" by Lu4 Liu1xian1 [呂 柳仙] (Lv3 the Willow Fairy.) When a tiger dies, its pelt remains; when a person dies, his fame remains. |
[hu3 si3 liu2 pi2 ren2 liu2 ming2] |
| 11 |
Hun5Diong3 min6jieng3 bhu1 Guan5de1 |
雲長 面前 舞 關刀 |
Show off a skill in the face of The Master. Guan5de1 is a special long-handled knife invented by Guan5 Hun5Diong3, and therefore, bears The Master's name. |
[Yun2Chang2 mian4qian2 wu3 Guan1dao1] “班門弄斧。” |
| 88 |
ji6lia6 tao3 neng6lia6 dua5 |
一粒 頭 兩粒 大 |
One head becomes the size of two heads. When one has too much to worry, the size of his head doubles. Also see "tao3 ka1 dua6 sin1." |
[yi1li4 tou2 liang6li4 da4] “一個 頭， 兩個 大。” |
| 161 |
ji6su5 sa82ko6 |
一適 衫褲 |
Set of upper and lower clothing. |
[yi1shi4 shan1ku4] “上下 一套 衣服。” |
| 101 |
jia6 cai4 bhui1a4 |
吃 菜 尾子 |
Eat the leftover. You have to see that after a banquet is over, such as one served right after the wedding ceremony, how much is left! Because not to waste is one of the virtues valued in the Taiwanese traditions, the leftover from the banquet will be collected and distributed to relatives. Nowadays, there might be a better system of taking care of this stuff. To me, it is only reasonable that a shelter be easily contacted and the leftover swiftly taken care of so that nothing is wasted. Do not forget that the dishes the leftover stuff came from were delicious and expensive, although the cost was mostly covered by the guests gifting the hosts with "ang5bao1 [紅包] (red envelopes.)" |
[chi1 cai4 wei3zi0] |
| 25 |
jia6 ce85cao1 kua84 teng5tao3 |
吃 星餚 看 湯頭 |
Judge if a banquet is delicious all you need to do is to taste the first course which is a soup. |
[chi1 xing1yao2 kan4 tang1tou2] |
| 19 |
jia6 he1kang1 dao4 sio5be6 |
吃 好孔 兜 相報 |
Spread the news to share the secret if you have come upon a good fortune. |
[chi1 hao3kong3 dou1 xiang1bao4] 接近 “有福 大家 享。” |
| 44 |
jia6 kun4 tao5ge1 |
吃 睏 頭家 |
Lodge and board supplied by the boss. According to the Taiwanese traditions of apprenticeship, it is made clear from the beginning how the apprentice's lodge and board will be supplied. When the boss is to supply both lodge and board, they will say "jia6 kun4 tao5ge1 [吃 睏 頭家] (eat and sleep on the boss.)" However, nowadays nobody will resist the temptation to twist the expression and say to his friends that his conditions are to "jia6 tao5ge1, kun4 tao5ge5niu3, [吃 頭家， 睏 頭家 娘] (board with the boss and lodge with the boss's wife,)" which is extremely rude. Therefore, I will recommend that the apprentice show respect to both the boss and the boss's wife by using the proper usage, which is also one of the reasons why I compile this collection of Taiwanese Common Expressions. Without a language tool like mine, there is no telling how the language will be distorted to the point where there is no return but complete loss and ignorance. |
[chi1 kun4 tou2jia1] |