| Order |
Pronunciation |
Expression |
Explanations |
When pronounced in Mandarin & Mandarin counterpart(s) |
| 28 |
gao6 cao5huan3 |
厚 操煩 |
Worry a lot. |
[hou4 cao1fan1] |
| 78 |
ghuan5 zhu4bhieng3 |
原 住民 |
People originally having been living in Taiwan when the immigrants led by De86 Sieng5gong1 [鄭 成功] (Zheng4 the Successful) came at the end of the Mieng5diao3 [明朝] (the Bright Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty) 1386 - 1644 A.D. |
[yuan2 zhu4min2] “原 住民”，“山地 同胞。” |
| 41 |
ze4ca1 e6 de1gio4 lia6ca1 |
做竊 的 在叫 捉竊 |
One who stole calls people to catch the thief. |
[zuo4qie4 de1 zai4jiao4 zhuo1qie4] |
| 103 |
ze4hi4 kong1, kua84hi4 ghong5. |
做戲 狂， 看戲 戇。 |
Crazy people make movies; stupid people watch them. |
[zuo4xi4 kuang2, kan4xi4 zhuang4] |
| 95 |
go1yi6 |
古意 |
Modest, rule-following, law-abiding. Almost too honest to not belong to ancient times. |
[gu3yi4] “老老實實，誠誠懇懇”，“不像 現代 的人 這麽 機靈 的。” |
| 165 |
shiu6dio6 ce85gia81 |
受到 青驚 |
Surprise has entered the body. Traditionally, the mental health of a person is protected by a good spirit. When an evil spirit is able to bypass the protection -- in this case the evil spirit is the 'Surprise Spirit' -- that person becomes ill mentally. To amend, a shai5gong1 [師公] (master)has to come to collect this evil spirit and expel it. See "shiu5gia81 [收驚] (Collect and expel the Surprise Spirit.)" |
[shou4dao4 jing1jing1] “受到 驚嚇。” |
| 200 |
you1hao6 |
友孝 |
Filial piety. To practice filial piety. To Love one's parents. |
[you3xiao4] “孝順。” |
| 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。” |
| 126 |
jia6 mu86dio6 yio2a4 |
吃 不對 藥子 |
Have taken the wrong medicine. He is not himself; there must be something wrong with him. |
[chi1 bu2dui4 yao4zi0] “吃錯 藥。” |
| 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] |