Penang Hokkien–English Dictionary (Preview)

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Penang Hokkien - English

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DICTIONARY with

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AN ENGLISH–PENANG HOKKIEN GLOSSARY by

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TAN SIEW IMM

Copyright Š 2016 by Sunway University Sdn Bhd Published by Sunway University Press An imprint of Sunway University Sdn Bhd

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press.sunway.edu.my

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No. 5, Jalan Universiti Sunway City 47500 Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia

Reprinted 2018

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, now known or hereafter invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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ISBN 978-967-13697-1-5

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Printed by Phoenix Printers Sdn Bhd, Penang

Cover: Street Art by Ernest Zacharevic

CONTENTS CONTENTS i

INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .

ii ii

KEY KEY TOTO DICTIONARY DICTIONARY ENTRIES. ENTRIES. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .

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BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . xii

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PENANG PENANG HOKKIEN HOKKIEN – ENGLISH – ENGLISH DICTIONARY. DICTIONARY. . .

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .

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ENGLISHENGLISHPENANG PENANG HOKKIEN HOKKIEN GLOSSARY. GLOSSARY. . . .. .. . .315315

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In compiling this dictionary, I am indebted to many for their help, support and encouragement.

At the top of the list is the Head of the Centre for English Language Studies (CELS) of Sunway University, Professor Dr Stephen Hall for his unstinting support and constant encouragement for the project and my work. It goes without saying that this would not be possible without his time and effort in helping me see through this project.

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My thanks also go to the outgoing Head of the English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) Unit, Annyza Tumar; the previous Dean of the Arts Faculty, Associate Professor Dr Lee Ei Leen; the Research Office of Sunway University for the sabbatical leave and research grant, the ever helpful Angeline Yong of the Research Office and my ex-colleague, Dr Juergen Bukhardt, for the introduction and help with the dictionary software and tools. I must also mention Associate Professor Dr Lee Su Kim (formerly of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) for her unwavering support and kind help throughout.

I also wish to express my thanks to the following for their time and help: Dato’ Tan Leh Sah, Irene Chew, Ho Yet Min, Jessie Tan, Jocelyn Yew Sok Leng, Lily Yap, and Ng Goon Hee. From them, I have learnt kindness and many more Hokkien words.

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Also on my list is Yee Jie Loong who agreed to help edit and proofread the entries, make corrections and collect data for this dictionary and whose help was much needed.

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There are also the countless Penangites — friends, relatives and strangers — who speak the language with me whenever I am shopping, buying groceries and food, or just making enquiries or small talk. All of them enrich my knowledge and vocabulary of the language.

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Then there are the people in my life: my beloved late parents, Tan Chin Yeang and Ong Chew Keat, who taught me Penang Hokkien, and who spoke Penang Hokkien with me so that for the first six years of life, I spoke only Penang Hokkien; my sisters, the late Siew Inn, Siew Hooi and Siew Tee, my relatives, friends and colleagues who speak the language with me; my ever supportive and loving husband Phak Chuin who, despite his Cantonese origin, speaks Penang Hokkien with me; and our two children, Xian and Loong, for whom this dictionary is compiled.

October 2015

Tan Siew Imm

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Penang Hokkien-English Dictionary

INTRODUCTION

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Penang was first established as a British port of call in 1786 by Captain Francis Light who named it Prince of Wales Island. However, from early days, the island had always been known as Penang. Soon, the Chinese were attracted to the new port and many settled on the island.

Many of the overseas Chinese at that time were from the Fujian province. They quickly built themselves a home on the island. As the population grew, the British were worried about food supplies and secured a piece of land on the mainland to grow crops and named it Province Wellesley after the Duke of Wellesley.

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Many of the early settlers began to call Penang home and to differentiate themselves from later arrivals, they termed themselves peranakan and the new immigrants sin-khɛk (new guests).

The peranakan or the Baba and the Nyonya used many Malay words and their cuisine had many local influences. So did the language. Influenced by the multi-lingual and multi-cultural communities in Penang over the years, Penang Hokkien became distinctive from the varieties used by the sin-khɛk. As many will testify, Penang Hokkien is very different from the other varieties of Hokkien in the south and east Malaysia which remain closer to the Min language in China.

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In 2001, the Statistics Department of the federal government lists over 2 million Hokkien in Malaysia, the largest Chinese ethnic group in the country, forming almost 38% of the total Chinese ethnic population. In general, the Hokkien concentrate in the north and south of the peninsula, with about half a million Hokkien in Selangor. Penang itself has about 300 000 Hokkien while Johor has about 400 000. The Hokkien population is dominant in most of the states in West Malaysia. In Sabah and Sarawak, they are only outnumbered by the Hakka but remain a potent second group in the East Malaysian states.

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Penang Hokkien-English Dictionary Hakka

Cantonese

Teochew

Hokchew

Language Hainanese

Kwongsai Hokkien others Hakka

Cantonese

Johor Kedah

415,012

139,577

97,408

91,111

11,442

Johor 28,371

7,954415,012 34,127 139,577

97,408

101,199

23,668

24,626

61,526

1,440

Kedah 3,628

731 101,199 7,61723,668

24,626

Kelantan

29,835

3,580

5,567

999

130

Kelantan 1,566

228 29,835

2,6403,580

5,567

Melaka

81,424

32,375

17,150

11,092

834

Melaka 11,151

544 81,424

16,204 32,375

17,150

Negeri Sembilan

63,940

62,463

55,447

4,330

5,402

Negeri 7,924 Sembilan2,29363,940

5,86262,463

55,447

Pahang

59,058

37,544

61,820

10,701

3,131

Pahang 7,503

7,57737,544

61,820

Perak

154,216

133,767

201,642

60,312

Perlis

9,273

4,062

1,839

2,842

Penang

297,605

39,605

64,505

122,681

Sabah

33,819

147,511

31,229

11,549

Sarawak

68,935

161,552

29,434

38,120

178,261

Selangor

505,504

203,998

289,455

58,465

9,376

Terengganu

11,428

2,186

4,078

1,005

Kuala Lumpur

185,062

98,926

Pulau Labuan

4,558

1,990

885

288

Total Population

2,020,868

1,092,754

1,067,994

5,365,846

(37.7%)

(20.4%)

(19.9%)

28,251

Perak 9,877

11,688 154,216 19,219 133,767

201,642

62

Perlis 442

320 9,273

1,839

3,298

Penang 10,775

579 297,605 10,449 39,605

64,505

5,154

Sabah 6,652

470 33,819

18,104 147,511

31,229

Sarawak 7,675

382 68,935

28,067 161,552

29,434

Selangor 27,203

4,444505,504 63,472 203,998

289,455

141

Terengganu 3,124

154 11,428

4,078

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468 4,062

1,8912,186

4,161

Kuala 14,849 Lumpur 2,246185,062 26,365 98,926

182,909

471

Pulau 305 Labuan 12 4,558

885

497,280

251,554

Total 141,045 Population51,674 2,020,868 243,046 1,092,754

1,067,994

(9.2%)

(4.7%)

5,365,846 (2.6%)

(19.9%)

22,259

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182,909

19,629 59,058

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Hokkien

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Language

Penang Hokkien-English Dictionary

Source: Jabatan Statistik, 2001.

516 1,990

(0.9%) (37.7%) (4.5%) (20.4%)

Source: Jabatan Statistik, 2001.

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Table 1: The Chinese Population of Malaysia according to Ethnicity Table 1: The Chinese Population of Mala

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Penang Hokkien is spoken in the northern states, from Perlis down Penang to Kedah Hokkien andisPenang spokenand in the northern s Taiping and the east coast states of Kelantan and Trengganu.

Taiping However, and the status east coast of the states of Kela language as a mother tongue has been threatened by political events language andassocial a mother engineering. tongue has been thre The overthrow of the Ching Dynasty in China in 1911 meant that Thethe overthrow Chineseof in the China Ching were Dynasty in Ch keen to have their own national language. As the Chinese schools keen to in have Malaya their relied ownon national the language. supply of books and teachers from China, this meant that new supply teachersofrecruited books and from teachers Chinafrom China, t after the 1911 Revolution could only teach in the new national after language, the 1911 Mandarin.

Revolution This could also only teach meant that the medium in the Chinese schools in Malaysia hadmeant to be that converted the medium to Mandarin. in the Chinese scho Later in the 1980s, a concerted campaign in Singapore initiated Laterbyinitsthegovernment 1980s, a concerted to use campaign Mandarin as a lingua franca among its Chinese population further Mandarin eroded as a the lingua other franca non- among its C Mandarin languages in the island state. This campaign also had Mandarin far-reaching languages results in on thethe island state. Th Chinese in Malaysia who realised that the use of Mandarin as Chinese a lingua in franca Malaysia meantwho thatrealised the that the Chinese could communicate to one another in a single language Chinese rathercould than communicate a multitude ofto one anothe languages. Over time, this was to have severe repercussions languages. on non-Mandarin Over time, Chinese this was to have languages in the country. languages in the country.

A recent study done by Sim (2010) suggests that the use of non-Mandarin A recent study Chinese done languages

by Sim (2010) suggest has declined as many Chinese Malaysians use Mandarin as theirhas lingua declined francaasand many do not Chinese teachMalaysians u iii

Penang Hokkien-English Dictionary

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their children their own language. Research statistics from a survey done by Xu (2006; cited in Sim, 2010) on 800 secondary school students in Penang, only about 42% use Hokkien as their first language while 38% use Mandarin as their first language. Of those who use Hokkien, as high as 70% of them communicated in Hokkien with their grandparents, and not their parents.

This meant that when grandparents passed on, the younger generation will stop using the language. It can be predicted that eventually Mandarin will replace Hokkien as the main language of Penang. Many of the parents interviewed (Sim, 2010; p.38) realise the importance of “saving” the language but do not wish to use Hokkien with their children. Instead, the Hokkien-speaking parents choose to depend on others to make the effort. Only a few are keen to use the language with their children, citing the importance of English, Malay and Mandarin in education. The perception is that the non-Mandarin Chinese languages have no value in the educational and economic sectors. As such, these languages are in danger of becoming obsolete and extinct. Even now, many users of Hokkien conveniently substitute English, Mandarin or even Malay words when they are unable to think of the Hokkien words. In time, it could become a patois that is used by an exclusive but diminishing group of speakers.

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ORTHOGRAPHY

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There are a few problems encountered in compiling this dictionary. One is deciding on an orthography system to represent an essentially oral language. One of the objectives of this project was to represent the spelling such that the user should find it easy and friendly to use.

There are a few sources to refer to. The most definitive would be the Chinese—English Dictionary of the Vernacular of Spoken Language of Amoy by Carstairs Douglas published in 1873. Essentially, the spelling system used in this dictionary is based on the one used by Douglas. This spelling system is also used by Luc de Gijzel in his glossary Penang Hokkien dictionary (English-Hokkien) first published in 2009. The romanised writing system for Hokkien is known as pεh-oa-ji or its acronym, POJ. However, 150 years have passed since Reverend Douglas’ dictionary was published and it is obvious that the spoken Hokkien language has changed. Furthermore, the Hokkien who migrated from the Fujian (“Hokkien” in the Hokkien language and, for this reason, the word “Hɵk-kién” is used to refer to the people and their language, and not “Fujian”) province and settled in Penang have their own language, evolved and influenced by the people with whom they had come into contact. Clearly, there are English, Malay, Indian and other influences on the Penang Hokkien language.

As in many other oral languages, the problem is to represent the sounds as closely and accurately as possible as uttered. The romanised English alphabet is inadequate to represent all the sounds in Hokkien. Nevertheless, this can be done by adapting and adopting a spelling system that resembles the initial system devised by Douglas. For example, Douglas uses the letter ε to represent the /eə/ sound (as in the word “there”) and the letter ө to represent the /ɔː/ (as in the word “saw”). Cathy Churchman (n.d.) has suggested a slightly different orthography system. Churchman uses a dot • after a vowel to differentiate, e• / eə / from e /ǝ/. The former, e•, represents the sound / eə / as in the word “there” while the latter, e, is used for the sound /ə/ as in “about”. This allows a mark to be placed above the vowel to indicate the tone of the word. iv

Penang Hokkien-English Dictionary

Penang Hokkien-English Dictionary Language

Hokkien

Hakka

However, this means that in order to write the language in the roman alphabet, the user has to Johor 139,577 put in both the dots and any diæresis marks which can be a bit cumbersome.

It 415,012 may also result in confusion if the dot is inadvertently left out. The orthography in this dictionary been Kedah 101,199 has 23,668 kept as closely as possible to the system used by Douglas. However, there are29,835 some changes Kelantan 3,580 which, hopefully, reflect the current usage of the language by the people of Penang.

Definition

PH ɛ ɛ u iau ui oi ua ue e ua i

24,626 5,567

81,424

32,375

17,150

Negeri Sembilan

63,940

62,463

55,447

Pahang

59,058

37,544

61,820

Perak

154,216

133,767

201,642

Perlis

9,273

4,062

1,839

Penang

297,605

39,605

64,505

example 33,819 147,511 tɛ̂ Sarawak 68,935 161,552 chhɛⁿ lú Selangor 505,504 203,998 iâuⁿ Terengganu 11,428 2,186 mûiⁿ moi Lumpur Kuala 185,062 98,926 sua Pulau Labuan 4,558 1,990 gu̍ek Total ke Population 2,020,868 1,092,754 hua 5,365,846 (37.7%) (20.4%) gîn Jabatan Statistik, 2001.

Source: Sabah

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tea green you goat door broth sand month chicken flower silver

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e i i iu ng oai oa oe oe oe u

example tê chhiⁿ lí iûⁿ mn̂g moai soa go̍ek koe hoe gun

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AH

97,408

Melaka

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DIFFERENCES FROM AMOY HOKKIEN The following table shows some of the differences. *AH = Amoy Hokkien PH=Penang Hokkien

Cantonese

31,229 29,434 289,455 4,078 182,909 885 1,067,994 (19.9%)

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However, it is interesting to note that these changes do not occur for all words.

For example, Table 1: The Chinese Population of Mala sńg (waste) is not changed to suiⁿ (sour) which has a different meaning and kiù (shrink) is not changed to kiàu. In this case, the orthography has been changed to reflect these differences and the dictionary carry all these changes.

Penang Hokkien is spoken in the northern s Taiping and the east coast states of Kelan VOWELS AND DIPHTHONGS language as a mother tongue has been thre The other two major changes are the use of ɛ and ɵ. ɛ is used to represent the / eə / sound rather overthrow thedictionary Ching Dynasty in Ch than to spell er as Hokkien does not have the letter r. Words thatThe begin with r inof this keen to have their are borrowed words from other languages. In fact, if borrowed words begin withown a r,national it is language. supply of books teachers from China, t converted to l. For example, durian is changed to liû–liên or roti to lō-tì.

Thisand is consistent throughout and there is no attempt to borrow accent or umlaut marks from French or German after the 1911 Revolution could only teach respectively to mark the different sounds as this may require the user that to have pre-knowledge meant the medium in the Chinese scho of either French or German.

Later in the 1980s, a concerted campaign To indicate the /ɔː/ sound, the theta sign ɵ is used. These are used to facilitate the input of Mandarin as a lingua franca among its C diæresis signs to indicate the tones and to make writing easier.

Mandarin languages in the island state. Th Chinese in Malaysia who realised that the u CONSONANTS communicate The other significant change is to change words starting withChinese ts to ch.could Carstairs uses ts toto one anothe represent the /ʧ/ sound. This representation appears to be dated languages. as it is more Over common today time, thistowas to have use ch for the /ʧ/ sound. This newer representation is favoured by de Gijzel who both languages inand the Tan country. use this spelling in their books. To represent ten, Carstairs spells the word tsap.

A recent study as done

by In Simthis (2010) suggest dictionary as well as in those by de Gijzel, ten is spelt cha̍p in the new orthography, e.g. cha̍phas declined as many Chinese Malaysians us ̄ ̄ gɵ-mɛⁿ or the fifteenth night of the lunar new year. v

Penang Hokkien-English Dictionary

In Penang Hokkien, the final consonant h in some words in Amoy Hokkien is changed to k.

For example, pha̍h is usually pronounced as pha̍k in Penang Hokkien and this is reflected in this dictionary.

TONES

à

4

ah

5

â

6

á

7

ā

8

áh

falling

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3

rising

Recognised by having a final consonant of h, k, p or t. falling then rising

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á

absence of any diæresis marks

Identical to Tone 2 neutral

No marks but before the final consonant of h, k, p or t, it is marked a̍.

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2

upper 1st upper 2nd upper 3rd upper 4th lower 1st lower 2nd lower 3rd lower 4th

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Tone 1 a

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Hokkien has four tones which are further subdivided into upper and lower divisions, resulting in eight tones but the general consensus is that there are approximately seven tones in Hokkien as opposed to four in Mandarin. This is because tones 2 and 6 are similar. Tones 4 and 8 are also similar. The following shows the tones and the diæresis marks.

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As a result, most users and speakers recognise and use four tones and there is no reason this would not suffice. In this case, to make this dictionary user-friendly, only the four basic tones will be represented as accurately as can be done. This is also because in the Hokkien language, the tone may change according to how and the order the word is used in the sentence. A dictionary remains only a point of reference. A teacher or native speaker of the language would remain a learner’s best guide to learn the language.

VOWELS Letter Phonemic symbol ɑː a ə e eə ε іː i əʊ o ɔː ө ʊ u

PRONUNCIATION Example father about there see go saw put

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Penang Hokkien-English Dictionary

Penang Hokkien-English Dictionary Language

Hokkien

Hakka

Johor 415,012 Sometimes there are no English equivalents for the vowel combinations.

In this case, I 139,577 have tried to use a language that is familiar to the native speakers of Hokkien.

It is possible that over Kedah 101,199 23,668 the years of interaction, some Malay and Penang Hokkien words have become similar in Kelantan 29,835 3,580 sounds. This is the result of the language borrowing.

DIPHTHONGS Phonemic symbol aI ai aʊ au ia іːaʊ iau Iəʊ io juː iu waI uai uɑː ua ue ui

24,626 5,567

32,375

17,150

Negeri Sembilan

63,940

62,463

55,447

Pahang

59,058

37,544

61,820

133,767

201,642

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81,424

Perak

154,216

The nearest sound is the Malay word9,273 “dia”. 4,062 Perlis This sound is onomatopoeic.

297,605 39,605 The nearest sound is inPenang the Spanish word for river.

Sabah

Sarawak

1,839 64,505

33,819

147,511

31,229

68,935

161,552

29,434

203,998

289,455

The nearest sound is the Malay word “gua”.

Selangor The nearest sound is the Malay word505,504 “kuih”.

The nearest sound is the Malay word “duit”.

Terengganu 11,428

Apspirated and unaspirated consonants

97,408

Melaka

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my now dia yeow rio phew why gua kuih duit

Comments

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CONSONANTS

Example

Cantonese

2,186

4,078

Kuala Lumpur

185,062

98,926

182,909

Pulau Labuan

4,558

1,990

885

Total Population

2,020,868

1,092,754

1,067,994

5,365,846

(37.7%)

(20.4%)

(19.9%)

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There are aspirated and unaspirated consonants. Aspirated consonants require the speaker Source: Jabatan Statistik, 2001. to blow a puff of air when voicing the sound. In this case, an extra “h” is added to the consonants to indicate that they should be aspirated. There are four consonants that have the extra h. These Table 1: The Chinese Population of Mala are chh, kh, ph and th. For example, the “h” differentiates khang (empty) from kang (river).

In this dictionary, words beginning with aspirated consonants appear after the non-aspirated consonants. In other words, all words beginning with chh appear in a new sectionis after words Penang Hokkien spoken in the northern s starting with c. This is the same as k and kh, p and ph, and t and th.

Taiping and the east coast states of Kela language as a mother tongue has been thre The following table shows the consonants as they are arranged in this dictionary. The consonant TheHokkien overthrow of thewhich Chingare Dynasty in Ch sounds are quite clear and the following table shows only the words keen to have their own national language. examples of the sounds and their meanings. supply of books and teachers from China, t after the 1911 Revolution could only teach meant that the medium in the Chinese scho Later in the 1980s, a concerted campaign Mandarin as a lingua franca among its C Mandarin languages in the island state. Th Chinese in Malaysia who realised that the Chinese could communicate to one anothe languages. Over time, this was to have languages in the country.

A recent study done by Sim (2010) suggest has declined as many Chinese Malaysians u vii

Penang Hokkien-English Dictionary

aspirated aspirated

NASALISED WORDS

Definition dream one seven a goose good day speak close people don’t want year stubborn let go fragrant lose pig read/study

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aspirated

Part of speech v n n n. adj. n v v n v n adj v adj v n v

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aspirated

Example bāng chı̍ t chhit gô hó jit kɵ́ng khàm lâng màiⁿ nîⁿ ngɛ̄ⁿ pàng phang su tu tha̍k

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Consonant b ch chh g h j k kh l m n ng p ph s t th

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The Hokkien language is also nasalised and a superscript n is added to the final letter of the word to indicate that the word is nasalised. Some writers add a capital N to the end of a word or in between the letters. In this dictionary, the superscript is added as it is less obtrusive. The POJ does not add the superscript to words that begin with m or n. To be consistent, I have added the superscript to words that are nasalised. There is no attempt to compare Penang Hokkien with other varieties of the Hokkien language. The dictionary will record the words as spoken in Penang.

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Below is a list of abbreviations used in the dictionary. This is an attempt to classify the Hokkien words according to its function in a sentence. A word may have several functions depending on how it is used in a sentence. Word order in a Chinese sentence is not dependent on the position of the words in the sentence. However, in trying to determine the parts of speech, I have classified the word or word phrase as close as possible to its function in a sentence. There may be objections whether a word should be classified as one word or a word phrase.

Ultimately, the formation of new words in any Chinese language involves forming new word compounds so that the resultant word may look like a word phrase rather than just a single lexeme. The dictionary is not designed to be a reference for linguists but for the user of the language. In case of disagreements, I would recommend the user to disregard the function or the part of speech.

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Penang Hokkien-English Dictionary

lit. n part poss ppl prep prep phr prop n sb sth v vphr

adjective adverb classifier parts of sentence or phrases connective for example et cetera expression figurative idiom that is

Language

Hokkien

Hakka

Cantonese

Johor

415,012

139,577

97,408

23,668

24,626

3,580

5,567

32,375

17,150

62,463

55,447

37,544

61,820

133,767

201,642

4,062

1,839

39,605

64,505

literal Kedah 101,199 noun particle Kelantan 29,835 possessive Melaka 81,424 people Negeri Sembilan 63,940 preposition prepositional phrase Pahang 59,058 proper noun Perak 154,216 somebody something Perlis 9,273 verb Penang 297,605 verb phrase

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adj adv class clause conn e.g. etc expn fig. idm i.e.

Penang Hokkien-English Dictionary

Sabah

147,511

31,229

68,935

161,552

29,434

Selangor

505,504

203,998

289,455

Terengganu

11,428

2,186

4,078

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33,819

Sarawak

LIMITATIONS

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It is clear that this dictionary is but a small step in the effort to preserve the Penang Hokkien among the users and speakers of the language. It also attempts toKuala standardise the orthography Lumpur 185,062 98,926 and spelling system of an essentially oral language. There are slightly over 12,000 entries in Pulau Labuan 4,558 1,990 this dictionary. It is possible that the entries in this dictionary may not include every word used by the native speakers of Penang Hokkien. If a native speaker should find that he or she uses a Total Population 2,020,868 1,092,754 word that is not an entry here, I hope that he or she can write to me at simmtan@outlook.com 5,365,846 (37.7%) (20.4%) and I would be happy to consider the suggestion in any later edition there may be.

Source: Jabatan Statistik, 2001.

182,909 885 1,067,994 (19.9%)

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Table 1: The Chinese Population of Mala

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Penang Hokkien is spoken in the northern s Taiping and the east coast states of Kelan language as a mother tongue has been thre The overthrow of the Ching Dynasty in Ch keen to have their own national language. supply of books and teachers from China, t after the 1911 Revolution could only teach meant that the medium in the Chinese scho Later in the 1980s, a concerted campaign Mandarin as a lingua franca among its C Mandarin languages in the island state. Th Chinese in Malaysia who realised that the u Chinese could communicate to one anothe languages. Over time, this was to have languages in the country.

A recent study done by Sim (2010) suggest has declined as many Chinese Malaysians us ix

Penang Hokkien-English Dictionary

KEY TO DICTIONARY ENTRIES Finding the word If you are unfamiliar with a Hokkien word, use the English glossary as a guide first. The glossary will indicate the Hokkien word. In the dictionary, the Hokkien words are arranged in alphabetical order and hyphens are disregarded in the alphabetical order.

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chɵ́-má n. great grandmother. chɵ́ng adj. all. Variant: lɵ́ng-chɵ́ng. chɵ̂ng v. rush. chɵ̂ng chò do things in a rush chɵ̂ng chhut-khì vphr. go out in a rush; dash out.

Example of how the entry word is used and the denotation of the example.

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Words which are similar in sounds (but not tones) are listed separately as they have different meanings.

The entry word has a variant.

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The hyphen is disregarded in the

The function (part of speech) of the entry

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Entry in bold and with diæresis marks

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Shows the source of the borrowed word

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Numbers show the different denotations of the entry and its function as an adjective.

chu-lu̍t n. a cigar. From: Indian. chùn v. shiver with fear or cold; tremble; quiver. chún adj. 1) true and correct (statement). kɵ́ng uā bô chún tell lies 2) accurate at hitting targets.

— v. 1) substitute; replace.

2) keep accurate time (a watch, a clock).

— adv. certainly; definitely.

pān-dàn n. the screw pine. the Pandanus. See: nâⁿ-tâu.

A cross reference is provided.

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The scientific name is given in italics.

Penang Hokkien-English Dictionary

The nasalised word is indicated by the superscript ⁿ.

Penang Hokkien-English Dictionary Language

Hokkien

Hakka

Cantonese

Johor

415,012

139,577

97,408

Kedah

101,199

23,668

24,626

pán-pɛ̂ⁿ n. a terrace; a balcony. In information 3,580 on the old pre-war houses, this Kelantan More29,835 the entry is provided open terrace is on the first Melaka 81,424 32,375 floor at the back of the house after the denotation. where the clothes are dried. Negeri Sembilan 63,940 62,463 Pahang

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59,058

Perak Perlis

154,216

55,447 61,820

133,767

201,642

Usage shows how the 9,273 4,062 entry is used in its 297,605 39,605 literal or figurative sense. 33,819 147,511

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17,150

37,544

lāu bɛ́ n. 1) an old horse. Usage: lit. 2) an old-fashioned Penang person; a dowdy person, not Sabah modern. Usage: fig.

— adj. not modern, dowdy.

Sarawak 68,935 161,552 Usage: derogatory.

Usage also505,504 shows the Selangor 203,998 connotation of the entry or Terengganu 11,428 2,186 how the word is used .

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5,567

1,839 64,505 31,229 29,434 289,455 4,078

Kuala Lumpur

185,062

98,926

182,909

Pulau Labuan

4,558

1,990

885

Total Population

2,020,868

1,092,754

1,067,994

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hó bè adj. saleable; easy to sell.

The different entries (37.7%) (20.4%) (19.9%) hó bīn-sek adj. healthy-looking. 5,365,846 show the different Source: Jabatan Statistik, 2001. hó búe n. a good end; a good meanings of hó in ending to the situation. hó chia̍k adj. delicious; Table 1:combination The Chinesewith Population of Mala other Hokkien words. tasty. Ant: bô hó chia̍k.

Penang Hokkien is spoken in the northern s Taiping and the east coast states of Kelan language as a mother tongue has been thre The overthrow of the Ching Dynasty in Ch keen to have their own national language. supply of books and teachers from China, t after the 1911 Revolution could only teach meant that the medium in the Chinese scho Later in the 1980s, a concerted campaign Mandarin as a lingua franca among its C Mandarin languages in the island state. Th Chinese in Malaysia who realised that the Chinese could communicate to one anothe languages. Over time, this was to have languages in the country.

A recent study done by Sim (2010) suggest has declined as many Chinese Malaysians u

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The opposite is listed under Antonym.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Barclay, T., 1923. Supplement to dictionary of the Amoy colloquial language. Shanghai: Commercial Press Ltd. Republished 1970 Taipei: Ku-T’ng Book Store.

Chee, J., 2006. A tapestry of Baba poetry. George Town:Johny Chee.

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Churchman, C., n.d. How to write Penang Hokkien in the roman alphabet –An-chuaⁿ io·ng· Ang-mo·ⁿ-ji sia Ho·kkian –oa. Available at: < http://penanghokkien.com/?page_id=1141> [Accessed 17 October 2013].

Churchman, M., 2008. T’ien Hsia extracts from a Penang Hokkien dictionary. Available at: <http://chinaheritagenewsletter.anu.edu.au/tienhsia.php?searchterm=026_hokkien.inc&iss ue=026> [Accessed 14 December 2012].

De Gijzel, L., 2013. Penang Hokkien dictionary. George Town: Areca Books.

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Douglas, C., 1873. Chinese-English dictionary of the vernacular or spoken language of Amoy, with the principal variations of the Chang-Chew and Chin-Chew dialects. London: Trübner & Co.

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Kwok, R., 2004. Hokkien rhymes and ditties down memory lane. George Town: Raymond Kwok.

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Lewis, H.M., 1996.

English-Hokkien reference.

Available at: <http://www.lewismicropublishing.com/Publications/HokkienEnglish/HokkienEnglishFra mes.htm> [Accessed 17 October 2013].

Phoenix Press, 1989. Pulau Pinang Magazine Vol.1 (1); (2); (3); (4); (5); (6). George Town: George Town Printers.

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Phoenix Press, 1990. Pulau Pinang Magazine Vol.2 (1); (3); (4); (5); (6). George Town: George Town Printers.

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Phoenix Press, 1991. Pulau Pinang Magazine Vol.3 (1); (2); (3). George Town: George Town Printers.

Sim, T.W., 2010. Attitudes, beliefs, ideologies and other factors that cause the decline of Chinese Malaysians’ native languages. Unpublished M.A. Dissertation. London University.

Tan, C. H., 2001. Learn to speak Penang Hokkien dialect. George Town: Tan Choon Hoe. Tye, T., 2003-14. Penang Hokkien dictionary. Available at: < http://www.penangtraveltips.com/penang-hokkien-english.htm> [Accessed 17 October 2013].

Wordpress.org., n.d. About us. Available at: <http://www.penanghokkienclass.com/about-us/> [Accessed 17 October 2013].

xii

aa

àiàiáuáu

AA - - aa look. look.

á-bā á-bān.n.a ahonorific honorifictotocall calla ayoung youngboy boy

orora ayoung youngman. man.Derived Derivedfrom from bā-bā. bā-bā. á-bô á-bôinterr interrclause. clause.1)1)Isn't Isn'tthat thatright? right?

2)2)OrOrelse? else?3)3)If,If,not? not? á-bū á-būn.n.ashes. ashes. á-būe á-būe adv. adv.not notyet. yet.i á-būe i á-būelâilâiHeHehas has not notarrived arrivedyet. yet. a-chí a-chí n.n.1)1)a aterm termtotocall callone's one'solder older sister. sister.2)2)a ahonorific honorifictotocall calla a female female person person who who isis slightly slightly older olderthan thanyou. you. a-chiu a-chiu n.n.thethecontinent continentofofAsia.

Asia.See: See: a-se-a. a-se-a. ̄ ng-hūe ̄ ng-hūe prop a-chiu a-chiuūn-tɵ ūn-tɵ propn.n.Asian Asian Games.

Games. âⁿ-chhin âⁿ-chhin adj. adj.biased biasedininfavour favourofofone's one's relatives. relatives.

——n.n.nepotism. nepotism. ̍ k̍ k v.v.guess. ̍ k̍ ksī sīI think à-ga à-ga guess.à-ga à-ga I thinkso.so.

—— adv. adv. approximately. approximately. From: From: Malay Malayagak. agak. a-gui a-gui n.n.asafœtida, asafœtida,ananIndian Indianspice spice which whichis isa apart partofofthe thefennel fennel family. family. a-î a-î n.n.ananhonorific honorifictotocall calla afemale female who whois isaround aroundyour yourparents' parents'age. age. âiâi interj. interj.ananexclamation exclamationofofa asudden sudden feeling feelingofofsurprise, surprise,regret regretororpain. pain.

See: See:âi-o; âi-o;âi-ioh. âi-ioh. àiài v.v.1)1)want wantorordesire; desire;wish. wish.wá wáàiài khùn khùnI am I amfeeling feelingsleepy. sleepy.2)2)love. love.

Variant: Variant:sū-kà. sū-kà. àiàiáuáu vphr. vphr. feel feel nauseous; nauseous; feel feel ̍ k̍ k squeamish. squeamish.chá-huiⁿ chá-huiⁿ wá wá chia chia ̍ k.̍ k. tong-kim bô-tio bô-tio tong-kim wá wá àiài áu. áu.

Yesterday YesterdayI Iate atesomething somethingthat that

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part. part.a aprefix prefixused usedbefore beforea aname. name. ̍ k̍ kA AKau, a akau, kau,lúlúkhí khítá-lo tá-lo Kau, where whereare areyou yougoing? going?Besides Besidesthe the surname surnamewhich whichis isplaced placedfirst, first,the the Hokkien Hokkienusually usuallyhave havetwo twogiven given names. names. a a is is used used before before the the second secondgiven givenname. name. a a part. part. a a particle particle inserted inserted after after words wordsending endinginin"p". "p". aⁿaⁿ part. part.onomatopœic; onomatopœic;imitates imitatesthe the sound soundmade. made. âⁿâⁿ v.v.protect; protect;guard. guard. á á interj. interj.ananexclamation exclamationofofsurprise. surprise. á á part. part.a aprefix prefixused usedwith withsome some nouns nounsand andasasananhonorific. honorific.á-ko á-ko brother brother á á part. part. 1)1)a a suffix suffix attached attached toto certain certain objects, objects, often often a a diminutive; diminutive; also also used used with with adjectives. adjectives.kù-á kù-áa asaw saw2)2)a asuffix suffix ininnames namesofofpeople. people. à à adj. adj. vocally vocallychallenged; challenged; dumb. dumb.

Variant: Variant:ɛ́-káu. ɛ́-káu. àⁿàⁿ v.v.stoop; stoop;bend benddown. down.àⁿàⁿlo̍lo k̍ klâilâi khuàⁿ khuàⁿBend Benddown downtotolook. look.See: See:àⁿàⁿ a-tē a-tēkhuàⁿ. khuàⁿ. ā ā adv. adv.also. also. āⁿāⁿ n.n. stuffing; stuffing; contents; contents; filling. filling. chit-ê chit-êâng-ku-āⁿ âng-ku-āⁿchīn chīnchiàⁿ chiàⁿtiⁿtiⁿ This This âng-ku âng-ku stuffing stuffing is is very very sweet. sweet. àⁿàⁿioiovphr. vphr.bow. bow. àⁿàⁿlo̍lo k̍ klâilâithiaⁿ thiaⁿvphr. vphr.bend benddown downtoto listen. listen.i àⁿ i àⁿlo̍lo k̍ klâilâithiaⁿ thiaⁿwá-lâng wá-lâng kɵng kɵnguāuāHeHebent bentdown downtotolisten listentoto what whatwewewere weresaying. saying. àⁿàⁿthâu thâuvphr. vphr.bend bendthe thehead headdown. down. àⁿ-a-tē àⁿ-a-tēkhuaⁿ khuaⁿvphr. vphr. bend bend down down toto

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Penang PenangHokkien Hokkien- English - EnglishDictionary Dictionary 1 1

ài kap lâng

ak-nūi chhɛⁿ ak chúi vphr. water plants. lú á-būe

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ak chúi chháu You haven't watered the garden. ak chhiú vphr. shake hands.

— n. a handshake. ak hɵ̄ vphr. drenched from the rain; caught in the rain. chá-huiⁿ wá-ê ko tio̍k ak hɵ̄ Yesterday my brother was caught in the rain. ak hua vphr. water the flowers in the garden. ak pûi vphr. add liquid manure. ta̍k-jit i ak-pûi i-ê-châng Every day he adds manure(urine)to his plants. ak pūiⁿ n. rice with pieces of roast duck. ak tâm vphr. drenched; soaked to the skin. lo̍k hɵ̄ ak kā-liâu tâm The rain was so heavy that everything was drenched. ak-bó n. a duck. ak-bó thâu n. a soldering iron. ak-hêng n. a young drake (male duck). ak-hêng siaⁿ n. the broken voice of a young boy at puberty. ak-kak n. a drake. ak-kiáⁿ n. a duckling. ak-kiēn n. duck's gizzard. ak-kua n. a poof; a male person with an effiminate manner. siàng-kā chı̍ t-ê ak-kua A typical poof!

Usage: derogatory. ak-nūiⁿ n. a duck egg. kué-tiâu chhá kā ak-nūiⁿ chīn chiàⁿ ho̍ chia̍k A duck egg goes very well with fried noodles. ak-nūiⁿ chheng n. the albumen of a duck egg. ak-nūi chhɛⁿ n. the light blue colour of a duck egg shell.

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didn't agree with me. Now I feel like nauseous. Variant: ài-thɵ̀. ài kap lâng adj. fond of scolding and quarrelling. ài kuà súi vphr. likes to dress up; likes adornment. ài khì vphr. wish to go somewhere. ài thiaⁿ vphr. wish to hear; like to listen. ài-bīn adj. proud; arrogant. Variant: ài-chuàⁿ. ài-chêng n. 1) romance; affection. 2) a lover; boyfriend; girlfriend. í-ê ài-chêng chīn iên-tâu Her boyfriend is very handsome. ài-cheng hāng prop n. Love Lane, a road in Penang. ài-chêng kua n. love songs. ài-gien vphr. crave. âi-ioh thiaⁿ interj. exclamation of pain. ài-kɵk adj. patriotic.

— n. patriotism. ài-khùn adj. sleepy; drowsy. ài-khùn io̍k n. a medication that has a soporific or drowsy effect. aì-ní prop n. Ireland. âi-ò interj. an exclamation of pain, disappointment, etc. ak v. 1) water. 2) drench. lo̍k hɵ̄ ak kā-liâu tâm The rain was so heavy that everything was drenched. ak n. a duck; general reference to all ducks. chit-ê ak puiⁿ chīn hó chia̍k. This duck rice is delicious. a̍k n. a box. wá chhue bô a̍k té mı̍ hⁿ-kiāⁿ I can't find a box to put in the stuff. ak bak n. duck meat. ak chang vphr. water the plants in the garden.

2 Penang Hokkien - English Dictionary

̂ ⁿ̂ ⁿ àm-mɛ àm-mɛ

ak-nūi ak-nūijîn jîn babies babiesororinfants. infants.

àm àmo̍ok̍ k n.n.aanight nightschool. school. ̍ ek ̍ ek n.n. bubbles ám ámphu phu bubbles inin rice rice water water while whilethe therice riceisisbeing beingcooked. cooked.

̍ t̍ t n.n.mental àm àmsuàn-su suàn-su mentalarithmetic. arithmetic. á-ma á-ma n.n. 1)1)aa honorific honorific toto call call one's one's

mother. mother. 2)2)aa Cantonese Cantonese servant servant who who isis hired hired asas aa nanny. nanny. She She usually usuallydresses dressesininaawhite whiteblouse blouse and andblack blacktrousers. trousers. àm-bɵk-bɵk àm-bɵk-bɵk adj. adj. very very dark. dark. ̂ ⁿ̂ ⁿ àm-bɵk-bɵk kim-mɛ kim-mɛ àm-bɵk-bɵk ItIt isis very very dark tonight.

Variant: dark tonight.

Variant: àm-bɵng-bɵng. àm-bɵng-bɵng. àm-bɵng-bɵng àm-bɵng-bɵng adj. adj. very very dark. dark.

Variant: Variant:àm àmbɵk-bɵk; bɵk-bɵk;àm àmso-so. so-so. ām-bûe ām-bûe n.n.aayoung youngfrog; frog;aatadpole. tadpole. àm-chīⁿ àm-chīⁿ adj. adj.secretive, secretive,clandestine. clandestine. ám-chúi ám-chúi n.n.rice ricewater. water. àm-chhī àm-chhī n.n.the theblack blackmarket. market. àm-chhiò àm-chhiò vphr. vphr.snigger; snigger;chuckle. chuckle. àm-chhiu àm-chhiu adj. adj. dark, dark, asas the the night night is. is.

Usage: Usage:describes describesdusk. dusk. àm-hō àm-hō n.n.aapassword. password. ̂ ng ̂ ng adj. àm-hɵ àm-hɵ adj.very verydark. dark. àm-hûn àm-hûn adj. adj.dark darkand andcloudy, cloudy,asason onaa moonless moonlessnight. night.

— —n.n.dark darkclouds. clouds. àm-kɵng-chiáu àm-kɵng-chiáu n.n. 1)1)anan owl. owl.

Usage: Usage:lit. lit.2)2)aaperson personwho wholikes likes toto stay stay out out late late atat night. night. wa-ê wa-ê ̂ ⁿ.̂ ⁿ. sió-tī sió-tīchīn chīnàiàichhut chhutkhí khíàm-mɛ àm-mɛ i i sīsī chı̍ chı̍t-ê t-ê àm-kɵng-chiáu àm-kɵng-chiáu My My younger younger brother brother loves loves going going out out atat night. night. He He isis aa night night owl. owl.

Usage: Usage:fig. fig. ām-kūn ām-kūn n.n. the the neck. neck. wá-ê wá-ê ām-kūn ām-kūn chīn chīnsuiⁿ suiⁿMy Myneck neckaches. aches. ām-kún-kū ām-kún-kū n.n.Adam's Adam'sapple. apple. àm-lâm àm-lâm adj. adj.dark darkblue. blue. ̂ ⁿ̂ ⁿ n.n. 1)1)dark àm-mɛ àm-mɛ dark night. night. 2)2)night night

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honorific honorific for for the the husband husband ofof an an older older sister. sister. 3)3)aa polite polite generic generic term term toto address address any any male male older older than thanthe thespeaker speakerbut butyounger youngerthan than the thespeaker's speaker'sfather fatherororuncle. uncle. á-kɵ á-kɵ n.n. aa paternal paternal aunt; aunt; also also what what aa wife wifecalls callsher herhusband's husband'ssister, sister,inin the theway wayher herson soncalls callshis hispaternal paternal aunt. aunt. ak-sái-sek ak-sái-sek adj. adj. dark dark green green asas the the colour colourofofthe thedung dungofofthe theduck. duck. ak-thúi ak-thúi n.n.aaduck duckdrumstick. drumstick. ak-thúi ak-thúimīⁿ-suàⁿ mīⁿ-suàⁿ n.n.vermicelli vermicellisoup soup cooked cookedwith withduck duckdrumstick. drumstick. á-kū á-kū n.n.1)1)aamaternal maternaluncle, uncle,brother brotherofof one's one'smother. mother.2)2)aahonorific honorifictotocall call an an older older male male stranger. stranger.

Sometimes Sometimesá-chek á-chekisisused. used. á-lā-po á-lā-po adj. adj. Arabic.

Arabic. á-lā-po-kɵk á-lā-po-kɵk the the Arabic Arabiccountries countries à-lêng à-lêng n.n.dumbbells. dumbbells. ̂ ng ̂ ng n.n. aa loan á-lɵ á-lɵ loan shark; shark; an an illegal illegal moneylender moneylender who who lends lends atat exorbitant exorbitantrates. rates. am am n.n. 1)1)aa monastery. monastery. 2)2)aa temple. temple.

3)3)an anabbey. abbey.lé-pài lé-pàii ikhí khíam ampài pài âng-kɵng. âng-kɵng. On On Sundays Sundays she she goes goes totothe thetemple templetotopray. pray. ám ám n.n. the the water water from from rice rice which which isis being being cooked. cooked. nāⁿ-sī nāⁿ-sī lúlú làu làu sai, sai, ̍ k̍ k ám chia chia ám chúi chúi IfIf you you are are suffering sufferingfrom fromdiarrhœa, diarrhœa,take takethe the water waterfrom fromthe therice ricethat thatisisbeing being cooked. cooked. àm àm adj. adj. dark. dark. māng māng kiāⁿ kiāⁿ àm àm lēlē Do Do not notwalk walkalong alongdark darkstreets. streets.See: See: àm-so-so. àm-so-so. ām ām n.n.the theneck. neck.i ichū-sat chū-sattiàu tiàuām. ām.He He committed committed suicide suicide by by hanging hanging himself. himself.

ām ām n.n. aa sound sound made made when when feeding feeding

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ak-nūi ak-nūijîn jîn n.n.the theyolk yolkofofaaduck's duck'segg. egg. á-ko á-ko n.n. 1)1)one's one's older older brother. brother. 2)2)an an

Penang PenangHokkien Hokkien- -English EnglishDictionary Dictionary 33

̂ ⁿ pan ̂ ⁿ pan àm-mɛ àm-mɛ

ângâng îⁿ îⁿ án-gū-gū; án-gū-gū; chiàk chiàk môi môi un tāu-hū un tāu-hū

time;time; evening. evening.

̂ ⁿ pan ̂ ⁿ pan àm-mɛ àm-mɛ n. then.night the night shift.shift.

An-gu-gu;eat An-gu-gu;eat brothbroth with with taufu.taufu. ̂ ⁿ tùiⁿ ̂ ⁿ tùiⁿ àm-mɛ àm-mɛ n. dinner. n. dinner. á-niâ á-niâ n. a n.honorific a honorific to call to call a young a young ̄ -kun ̄ -kun ām-mɵ ām-mɵ n. n.the theneck.neck.wá-êwá-ê lady.lady.

Derived Derived fromfrom nyonya. nyonya.

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̄ -kun̄ -kun ām-mɵ ām-mɵ chīnchīn suiⁿ suiⁿ My My neckneck Variant: Variant: á-niâ-chí. á-niâ-chí. an-lâm an-lâm propprop n. Annam. n. Annam. hurts. hurts. àm-mɵⁿ-mɵⁿ àm-mɵⁿ-mɵⁿ n. a very n. a very darkdark night.night. an-lip-kan an-lip-kan propprop n. Anglican. n. Anglican. àn-nɛⁿ àn-nɛⁿ conn.conn. so; therefore. so; therefore.

— adj.

— very adj. very dark.dark. àm-pâi àm-pâi n. an.detective a detective in the in the police police — adv.

— adv. so; very. so; very. bô àn-nɛⁿ bô àn-nɛⁿ khuài khuài force. force.

Muthu Muthu sī chı̍ sī t-ê chı̍ àm-pâi t-ê àm-pâi not that not that soonsoon or not orso notsoon so soon àn-nɛⁿ khuán khuán adv. adv.

1) in1)ainsimilar a similar Muthu Muthu is a is detective a detective in the in police the policeàn-nɛⁿ fashion, fashion, manner manner or way. or way.

2) like 2) like force. force. am-pô-chê am-pô-chê n. a cicada. n. a cicada. that. that. i tham-sim, i tham-sim, i sī i àn-nɛⁿ sī àn-nɛⁿ ām-sê ām-sê n. 1) n. a 1)bib. a bib. chheng chheng ām-sê ām-sê khuán khuán He He is greedy.He is greedy.He has has ̍ k Put ̄ i̍k thâu-seng thâu-seng khahkhah hɵ̄ ihɵ chia chia Put always always beenbeen that that way.way. àn-nɛⁿ siⁿ siⁿ conn.conn. thus;thus; so. so. the bib the on bibhim on first him first before before feeding feedingàn-nɛⁿ àn-nɛⁿ tú-hó tú-hó expn.expn. WhatWhat a a him. him.

2) the2) dewlap the dewlap of a of cow a cow or a or aàn-nɛⁿ coincidence! coincidence! horse. horse. àm-sek àm-sek adj. dark-coloured. adj. dark-coloured. án-tuā án-tuā n. then.head the head of theoflocal the local mafia. mafia. àm-sî àm-sî n. evening n. evening or night-time. or night-time. àn-thâu àn-thâu tengteng n. a table n. a table lamp.lamp. àm-sô-sô àm-sô-sô adj. very adj. very dark.dark. angang n. husband. n. husband. ̄ ng ̄ ng àm-tɵ àm-tɵ n. a tunnel. n. a tunnel. ângâng adj. adj. red. red. sin-chiaⁿ sin-chiaⁿ chīnchīn chē chē lânglâng àm-thâu àm-thâu n. 1)n.a 1) dark a dark night.night.

2) night 2) night chhēng chhēng âng.âng.

During During the the new new time.time. àm-thâu àm-thâu liâu.liâu. khah-kín khah-kín jı̍ p jı̍ p year,year, manymany wearwear red. red.

Variant: Variant: chhùchhù It isIt night is night time.time.

Quickly Quickly âng-sek. âng-sek. àngàng n. a jar; n. a ajar; container; a container; an urn. an urn. comecome inside. inside. ân ânadj. adj.hardhardup upfor forcash;cash;ângâng chuá chuá n. red-coloured n. red-coloured paper. paper.

On On cash-strapped. cash-strapped. chit-ê chit-ê gue̍k-jit gue̍k-jit wá wá auspicious auspicious occasions, occasions, a piece a piece of of chīnchīn ân. bô-kàu ân. bô-kàu lui. This lui. This month month I I âng-chuá âng-chuá is necessary. is necessary. chhái chhái n. an. red a red banner banner hunghung am aam bitatight. bit tight.

I don't I don't havehave enough enoughângâng across across the doorway the doorway on auspicious on auspicious money. money. ân ânadj. adj. tight.tight. chit-ê-mûiⁿ chit-ê-mûiⁿ bē só bē ân só ân occasions, occasions, e.g. e.g.

Chinese Chinese NewNew This This doordoor cannot cannot be locked be locked tight.tight.

Year,Year, a a wedding, wedding, etc. etc. an kim an kim v. gild v. gild with with goldgold leaf. leaf. pak-sien-chhái pak-sien-chhái a red a red banner banner ān-chuâⁿ ān-chuâⁿ interrinterr pro. pro.

How? How? HowHow can can depicting depicting the Eight the Eight Immortals Immortals ge̍kge̍n. k redn.jade. red jade. that that be? be?

Why? Why? ān-chuâⁿ ān-chuâⁿ kɵ́ngkɵ́ngângâng ângâng hiā hiā n. redn.ants. red ants.

WhatWhat do you do say? you say? an-chûan an-chûan adj. safe; adj. safe; not dangerous not dangerous (in (inângâng huan-chio huan-chio n. redn.chillies. red chillies. húehúe n. an n. an incandescent incandescent lightlight describing describing a situation). a situation).

Ant: Ant:ângâng bulb.bulb. bô-an-chûan. bô-an-chûan. án-gū án-gū (án-gū-gū) (án-gū-gū) expn.expn. a phrase a phraseângâng îⁿ n.îⁿ then. âng-ku the âng-ku mademade in a in round a round usedused as a as cooing a cooing sound sound to babies. to babies. marble marble shapeshape to indicate to indicate that that the the 4 Penang 4 Penang Hokkien Hokkien - English - English Dictionary Dictionary

âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) o̍k

âng ke nūiⁿ

table set against a wall, generally at the middle of the room to place statues of gods. tok-ûi cloth to wrap the front of the altar ang-kɵng-á n. a toy. ang-kɵng-chɵ́ n. the gods in general. âng-kū n. a red bun in the shape of a tortoise, usually made for prayers. âng-kū-āⁿ n. mung bean stuffing in the cake âng-ku. See: âng kū. âng-khàm sek n. an orange red colour. âng-khī n. a persimmon. âng-khī kuaⁿ n. dried persimmons. àng-lāi n. a cul-de-sac; a dead end. jı̍ p àng-lāi Enter a cul-de-sac. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) n. a Caucasian (white person). Lit: 'red hair'.

Usage: used to refer to any Caucasian. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) cha-bɵ́ n. a female Caucasian (white person). âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) hua-hûiⁿ prop n. the Botanical Garden of Penang; commonly referred to as the Waterfall Garden. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) io̍k n. western medicine. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) lâng n.

Caucasians. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) lâu n. a mansion; a big bungalow. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) liû-liên n. a soursop. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) miâⁿ n. a Christian name. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) o̍k n. an English school; a school where English is the medium of instruction.

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The eggs are cooked and dyed red to celebrate birthdays. Other food include vermicelli and lâm-mīⁿ. âng pó-chio̍k n. the ruby. âng sip-jī n. a red cross. âng sip-jī chhia n. an ambulance.

Lit: 'red cross vehicle'. âng sı̍ p-jī hūe prop n. the Red Cross Society. âng suàn-thâu n. shallots. àng té chúi-ke idm expn. an ignorant person. Lit: 'frog in an urn'. âng teng n. 1) a red lantern; a red lamp. 2) a red-light area; a place to get prostitutes. âng thiⁿ jia jı̍ t-thâu n. a hazy, sunless sky. Lit: 'red sky hides the sun'. âng thɵ̂ n. red earth; laterite. âng thɵ̂ lɵ̄ a laterite road ang-à-hû n. ray fish; a stingray. âng-bak-chio n. lacatan ( lakatan) banana which is reddish on the inside. ang-bɵ́ n. husband and wife; a married couple. See: ang-pô. âng-chó n. a red date. âng-chò n. a red snapper (fish). âng-chhài-thâu n. a carrot. âng-ê n. bridal shoes. âng-gé adj. ruddy. bīn âng-gé ruddy and healthy-looking âng-heng-chiáu n. a robin. âng-hɛ̂ n. red shrimps. âng-hiā kā n. an ant bite. âng-húe chhɛⁿ-húe n. traffic lights. âng-ki-ki adj. very red. âng-kiù-kiù adj. very red. ang-kɵng n. 1) a generic term for a god; a deity. 2) an idol.

ang-kɵng keng n. a temple. ang-kɵng tok n. a long high narrow

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newborn is a boy.

âng ke nūiⁿ n. boiled eggs dyed red.

Penang Hokkien - English Dictionary 5

âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) po̍-hô

âng-thô

mint.

âng-mɵ̄ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) sì-gu̍ek prop n.

a rambutan. â-mɵ̂ⁿ-tan châng a rambutan tree âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ)-thn̂g n. sweets. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ)-uā n. the English language. âng-nūiⁿ n. hard-boiled eggs coloured red for auspicious occasions, e.g. a birthday. See: âng-ke-nūiⁿ. âng-pau n. a red packet, usually with money. An âng-pau is given on a festive or joyous occasion such as Chinese New Year, a wedding or birthday. The sum has to be of an even number. The quantum depends on the relationship between the giver and the recipient. ang-pô n. husband and wife; a married couple. See: ang-bɵ́. âng-sai n. the crimson snapper. âng-si suàⁿ n. a red thread given to those who attend a funeral.

Usually this includes some sweets. âng-tāu n. red beans. âng-tāu thng red bean soup âng-tāu sn̄g n. an ice dessert topped with syrup, milk, red beans, cream-style corn, black jelly (chhin-chháu) and attap seeds. âng-tāu thng n. a soup dessert of red beans. âng-tiu-tiu adj. be clad extremely red or totally red. Variant: âng ki-ki. âng-thâu peng n. the Federal Reserve Unit of Malaysia; also known as the riot squad. The FRU members wear red helmets. âng-thn̂g chúi n. a rose syrup drink. âng-thô n. the âng-ku in the form of

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April. chap-jī-hō âng-mɵ̄ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) sì-gu̍ek the twelfth of April The Hɵkkien differentiate the Gregorian calendar months from the Chinese calendar by adding the prefix âng-mɵ̄ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ). Add tn̂g-lâng as a prefix to the lunar months. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) sin-chiaⁿ n. the Gregorian new year (1 January). âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) tang-chek n.

Christmas. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) tá-pɵ̄ n. a male Caucasian. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) tī-mùn n. a chayote. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) thɵ̄-ko ke prop n. the commercial district of Beach Street, where there are many banks and warehouses. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ)-chia̍k n. western food; western cuisine. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ)-chhɛk adj. an English education. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ)-hì n. western films; films in English. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ)-hue n. cement. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ)-hue chhia a cement mixer lorry âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ)-jī n. the roman alphabet. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ)-kiô n. a tomato. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ)-kiô chiàuⁿ n. tomato sauce. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ)-kɵ n. button mushrooms. âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ)-lɵ̄ prop n. Sultan Ahmad Shah Road (Northam Road).

âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ)-tan n.

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âng-mɵ̂ⁿ (â-mɵ̂ⁿ) po̍-hô n. English

6 Penang Hokkien - English Dictionary

̂ lɵ̄ ̂ lɵ̄ âng-thɵ âng-thɵ

áu áu

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a peach a peach to indicate to indicate the newborn the newborn is is When When he he returns, returns, ... Variant: ... Variant: a girl. a girl. nā-sī. nā-sī. ̂ lɵ̄ ̂ n.lɵ̄a n. âng-thɵ âng-thɵ laterite a laterite road.road. á-sóá-só n. ann.honorific an honorific to address to address the wife the wife ap thâu ap thâu v. bow v. bow to sb.to sb. of an of older an older malemale relative relative of the of the á-pâá-pâ n. ann.honorific an honorific to call to one's call one's father. father. samesame generation. generation. á-pɛk á-pɛk n. 1) n. an1) honorific an honorific to call to call the the at at v. break; v. break; bend; bend; fold.fold. ̍ k lo ̍ k lâi lâi vphr.vphr. bendbend sth sth down, down, olderolder brother brother of one's of one's father. father.

2) a 2) a at --atlo-usually usually bendbend and and break break a tree a tree honorific honorific and and respectful respectful termterm to to branch. branch. call an callolder an older malemale person. person. a-pôa-pô n. an n. honorific an honorific to call to call a female a female at chhiú-búe at chhiú-búe vphr.vphr. arm-wrestle. arm-wrestle. whowho is around is around youryour grandparents' grandparents' — n.—arm-wrestling. n. arm-wrestling.

Variant: Variant: kau kau age. age. chhiú-kau. chhiú-kau. ap-pek ap-pek v. repress. v. repress. at hua at hua vphr.vphr. pickpick a flower a flower by by á-pûi á-pûi n. name n. name for afor fataperson. fat person.

Usage: Usage: breaking breaking it at ittheat stem. the stem. at tit at vphr. tit vphr. bendbend sth straight; sth straight; makemake sth sth disrespectful; disrespectful; jocular. jocular. á-phièn á-phièn n. opium. n. opium. i sī á-phièn i sī á-phièn sien sien He He straight. straight. at tuiⁿ vphr.vphr. break break off sth offcompletely. sth completely. is an is an opium opium addict. addict.

Variant: Variant: at tuiⁿ á-tàp á-tàp chang chang n. a n. nipah a nipah palm. palm. ɵ-hun. ɵ-hun. á-phièn á-phièn hun-chhue hun-chhue n. an. pipe a pipe for for á-tàp á-tàp chí chí n. attap n. attap seeds; seeds; nipah nipah seeds. seeds. smoking smoking opium. opium.

Arecacea.

Arecacea.

The The immature immature seedsseeds a-phièn a-phièn siensien n. ann.opium an opium addict. addict. are translucent and and jelly-like but but are translucent jelly-like á-phièn-gièn á-phièn-gièn n. n. an an addiction addiction to to firm.firm.

TheyThey are are mainly usedused in in mainly opium. opium. desserts.

From: Malay attap. desserts.

From: Malay attap. á-sam á-sam n. n.tamarind. tamarind.á-sam á-samchúichúi ā-tàp ā-tàp chhù chhù n. a n. house a house withwith a roof a roof of of tamarind tamarindjuicejuiceá-sam á-samko ko attapattap (nipah) (nipah) leaves. leaves. at-chik at-chik v. break v. break (of a(of limb). a limb). tamarind tamarind pastepaste From: From: Malay.

Malay. á-sām á-sām n. an. servant. a servant.

The The Cantonese Cantonese a-tēa-tē prep.prep. underneath; underneath; below; below; under. under. wordword sam sam means means aunt.aunt.

From: From: — — n. n. the the genitals. genitals.

Usage: Usage: Cantonese.

Cantonese. euphemism. euphemism. á-sam á-sam lak-sa lak-sa n. an. dish a dish of of white white a-tēa-tē chàn chàn n. the n.ground the ground floor. floor. á-tia n. ann.honorific an honorific to call to one's call one's father. father. transparent transparent noodles noodles withwith tamarind tamarind á-tia á-tiāuⁿ n. an n. honorific an honorific to call to call the the fish fish soupsoup topped topped withwith julienned julienned á-tiāuⁿ husband husband of either of either father's father's sistersister or or raw raw vegetables vegetableslike likeonions, onions, mother's mother's sister. sister.

It is Iteither is either î-tiāuⁿ î-tiāuⁿ lettuce, lettuce, cucumber, cucumber, ginger ginger bud bud and and or kɵ-tiāuⁿ. or kɵ-tiāuⁿ. pineapple, pineapple, and and prawn prawn paste. paste. a-tuā hūnhūn vphr.vphr. take take a lion's a lion's share. share. lak-sa lak-sa bɵ̀ bɵ flat̀ flat round round ballsballs of of a-tuā au aun. a n. cup; a cup; a glass. a glass. lak-sa lak-sa noodles noodles a-se-a a-se-a propprop n. Asia. n. Asia.

See:See: a-chiu. a-chiu. âu âun. a n. kite. a kite. pàngpàng âu Fly âu aFly kite. a kite. ā-sīā-sī conn. conn. if, or. if, lú or. àilú pêng-kó ài pêng-kó ā-sī ā-sī âu âun. the n.throat. the throat. v. crumple. bɵ̍k-kua bɵ̍k-kua Do you Do want you want an apple an apple or or áu áuv. crumple. áu áuv. fold v. fold sth, sth, e.g. e.g. a piece a piece of paper; of paper; a slice a slice of papaya? of papaya? bendbend sth. sth.

— adv.

— adv. when. when. ā-sī ā-sī i túiⁿ-lâi i túiⁿ-lâi ... ...

Penang Penang Hokkien Hokkien - English - English Dictionary Dictionary 7 7

áuáu

àu-tū-tū àu-tū-tū

following following month. month.

áuáu huih huih vphr. vphr.1) vomit 1) vomitblood; blood;spitspit

obstinate; obstinate;pervasely pervaselyunfair unfairin in dealing. dealing.

—— vphr. vphr. refuse refuse to listen. to listen. āu-bīn āu-bīnprep. prep. behind. behind.

Variant: Variant: āu.āu.

—— adj.adj. rear; rear; behind. behind. āu-bó āu-bón. n.

1) wife 1) wife married married after after being being widowed. widowed.

2) a2)stepmother. a stepmother. āu-búe āu-búeprep. prep. behind; behind; at the at the back. back. āu-búe āu-búeadv.adv. in the in the end.end. āu-búe āu-búe lɵ̄ lɵ̄n. an.back a back lane; lane; a small a small road road behind behind thethe house. house. āu-búe āu-búe mûiⁿ mûiⁿn. the n. the back back door. door. āu-chan āu-chan khíkhín. n.thetheback backmolars molars including including thethe wisdom wisdom tooth. tooth. àu-chau àu-chauadj.adj. stinking stinking because because it has it has been been kept kept tootoo long. long. āu-chek āu-chekn. an.step-uncle. a step-uncle. âu-cheng âu-chengn. Adam's n. Adam's apple. apple. au-chiu au-chiu prop prop n. Europe. n. Europe. tang-au tang-au East East Europe Europe āu-chō āu-chō bak bakn. n. meat meat from from thethe hindquarters. hindquarters. àu-chhàu àu-chhàuadj.adj.rotten rotten andand decaying decaying with with a putrid a putrid smell. smell. āu-jit āu-jitn. the n. the dayday after after tomorrow. tomorrow. āu-lâi āu-lâiadv.adv. thereafter; thereafter; afterwards. afterwards. áu-làu áu-làun. n. cholera; cholera; purging purging andand vomiting. vomiting. Lit:Lit: 'purging 'purging andand vomiting'. vomiting'. ̍ k ̍ kadj.adj. àu-lɵ àu-lɵ rotting rotting andand oozing oozing liquids. liquids. ̂ nĝ ng àu-lɵ àu-lɵ adj.adj. rotten; rotten; stinking. stinking.

—— n. n. a bad a bad stench stench of of decaying decaying flesh. flesh. āu-mêⁿ āu-mêⁿn. the n. the next next night. night. àu-náuⁿ àu-náuⁿadj.adj. annoyed; annoyed; vexed; vexed; angry; angry; displeased; displeased; impatient. impatient. āu-pē āu-pēn. an.stepfather. a stepfather. āu-sì āu-sì n. afterlife; n. afterlife; lifelife after after death. death. āu-tāi āu-tāin. n. posterity; posterity; thethe future future generations. generations. àu-tū-tū àu-tū-tūadj.adj. sulky; sulky; displeased; displeased;

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blood. blood. Usage: Usage: lit. lit. 2) find 2) find difficulty difficulty in doing in doing sth sth or or dealing dealing with with sb sb so so much much so so thethe person person feels feels likelike vomiting vomiting blood; blood; findfind difficulty difficultyin incoping copingwith withsth.sth.

Usage: Usage: fig.fig.

Variant: Variant: thɵthɵ huih. ̀ ̀ huih. áuáu jiâu jiâuv. wrinkle; v. wrinkle; crease. crease. āuāu kùe kùen. the n. the next next time time or occasion. or occasion. áuáu khiau khiau vphr. vphr.bend bendandandmake makesth sth crooked. crooked. āuāu lé-pài lé-pàin. n.thethenextnextweek; week;thethe following following week. week. āuāu lé-pài-ê lé-pài-ê pài-saⁿ pài-saⁿn. n. next next Wednesday.

Wednesday. āuāu nîⁿnîⁿn. the n. the next next year. year.

See: See: mɛⁿ-nîⁿ. mɛⁿ-nîⁿ. āuāu páipái n. the n. the next next time. time. āuāu pang pangn. the n. the next next time. time. auau pùe pùen. the n. the next next generation. generation. āuāu sû sûn. n.descendents; descendents;thethefuture future generations. generations. āuāu táutáuadv.adv. thethe next next time. time.

Variant: Variant: pa pa táu.táu. áuáu têng têng kûn kûn vphr. vphr.foldfoldandandhem hema a dress, dress, a frock a frock or aorskirt. a skirt. áuáu tı̍ t tı̍ tvphr. vphr. bend bend sth sth straight; straight; make make sth sth straight. straight. āuāu thâu thâu n. the n. the next next time. time.

—— adv.adv. following; following; in in thethe period period after. after. auau ut utvphr. vphr. accuse accuseunjustly unjustlyandand falsely. falsely.

áu-bān áu-bānadj.adj. stubborn; stubborn; unbending; unbending;

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áuáu v. vomit. v. vomit.

Variant: Variant: thɵ̄thɵ . ̄. àuàu adj.adj. decaying; decaying; rancid; rancid; going going bad. bad. āuāu prep. prep. after; after; behind; behind; next. next. áuáu chân chânvphr. vphr. foldfold pleats. pleats. áuáu chik chik vphr. vphr. break break from from bending. bending. áuáu chuá chuávphr. vphr. foldfold paper. paper. āuāu chuā chuān. the n. the next next trip.trip. ̍ k ̍ kn. the āuāu gue gue n. the next next month. month. ̍ ek-jitn. n.nextnextmonth; āuāu gu̍gu ek-jit month;thethe

8 8Penang Penang Hokkien Hokkien - English - English Dictionary Dictionary

bâ āu-thúi bak

bak-chàng

morose. i-ê-bīnàu-tū-tū àu-tū-tūHis His face morose. i-ê-bīn shows his displeasure.

— vphr. show tantrum.

āu-thúi bak n. the hind-quarter meat of an animal.

BB - bb

medicine'. Variant: bâ iòk-chùi.

bā-bā n. a male Chinese born in the

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Straits Settlements, either in in Penang, Singapore or Melaka.

Melaka.

See: nɵ̄-nia (nyonya). bah-iû phok n. lard fried until it is brown and crisp. Variant: bak-iû-phok. bâ-hɵng n. leprosy. Variant: thái-ko. bā-iàng n. a shadow cast by a light or or the sun. See: iáⁿ. From: Malay. bak v. infect; spoil; pollute. bak n. a knot in wood. bak n. 1) 1) meat; flesh. flesh. 2) 2) pork. 3) 3) the mesocarp of of aa fruit;. fruit;. 4)4) the contents of sth. Variant: bah. ba̍k n. ink. ɵ ba̍k black ink ba̍k n. 1) 1) the the eye. 2) the the links links of a chain. ba̍k kak n. the corner of the eye. bak kau n. a hook to hang meat in a butcher's shop. ba̍k kuaⁿ n. thin slices of dried sweet bak sweet pork grilled over fire; AmE: jerky.

Variant: bah-kuaⁿ. bak kut n.n.porkpork ribs. Variant: ribs. bah-kut.

Variant: bak kut tɛ̂ n. a dish of pork ribs bah-kut. cooked bak kut tɛ̂ n. ina herbal dish of soup pork with ribs mushrooms, stomach, etc. with cooked in pig herbal soup ba̍k khang n. thepigeye socket. mushrooms, stomach, etc. See: ba̍k khang ba̍k-u. n. the eye socket. See:

ba̍k-u. v. defile; make dirty. bak lâ-sâm bak lâ-sâm liû n. a v. growth; defile;amake tumour dirty. of the bak liûflesh. n. Variant: a growth;bah-liû. a tumour of the ba̍k nikⁿ-kú adv. in the blink of an flesh. Variant: bah-liû. ba̍k nikⁿ-kú adv. in the blink of an eye; quick. bak pau n. a bun with meat stuffing. eye; quick. bak pau puê n. a bun porkwithskin. meat stuffing.

Variant: bak puê n. pork skin. Variant: bah-puê. ba̍k sái n. rheum or a watery discharge bah-puê. ba̍k sái n. therheum or dries a as watery from eyes which crust

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discharge which around thefrom eyes;the alsoeyes known as dries as crust eyes;a eye crud. lâu around ba̍k-sáithehave also as from eye the crud. runnyknown discharge eyes lâu ba̍k sái chiam ba̍k-sái haven. aa stye. runny discharge bak tâm vphr. from the eyesmake wet; dampen; ba̍k sái chiam n. awhen stye. it should be become moist bak tâm dry. vphr. make wet; dampen; bak tang bakmoist sai when idm expn. soil be in become it should many ways; defile all over. Lit: dry. bak tang bak expn. soil in 'touch eastsai touchidm west'. bak thiàⁿ pain from many n.ways; defilea wound. all over. Lit: bak uân 'touchn.eastmeatballs touch west'.made from bak thiàⁿ painVariant: from a wound. mincedn.pork. bah-uân. bak ba̍k-bâi uân n.n.the meatballs eyebrow. made from ba̍k-bâi pha̍pork. k chò chı̍ t kat n. minced Variant: bah-uân. ba̍k-bâi n. the eyebrow. eyebrow drawn together in ba̍k-bâi pha̍kor chò chı̍ t kat n. sadness anxiety. ba̍k-bâi thâu n.drawn the space between eyebrow together in the eyebrows. sadness or anxiety. ba̍k-bâi thâu uan n.n.arched the space eyebrows. between the eyebrows. bak-chàng n. a tetrahedron-shaped ba̍k-bâi uan made n. arched eyebrows. dumpling of glutinous rice, bak-chàng n. a tetrahedron-shaped meat, a salted egg yolk, dumpling made of glutinous rice, meat, a salted egg yolk, Penang Penang Hokkien Hokkien -–English EnglishDictionary Dictionary 9