7 Cantonese phrases that should be in the Oxford English Dictionary

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Broken a vase, ate something dodgy for lunch, ruined a relationship, or just left your keys at home? While this phrase doesn’t mean anything overt, this expression is a key part of any local’s vocabulary to express frustration or surprise.

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How does one 'collect skin', you ask? Well, have you ever done something so embarrassing that you just want to dig yourself a hole and hide in it forever? That's basically how you 'collect skin'. Alternatively, you can also use this phrase to tell someone to stop talking and just shut it. 

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When life gives you lemons, translate them into Cantonese. The term ‘sik ling mung’ is like rubbing salt, or in this case, lemons into an open wound. This is said when someone gets rejected, typically romantically. 

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This is the Cantonese equivalent to the English phrase ‘shooting the breeze’. It means to talk about nothing, but also everything at the same time. Blowing water can also be used to describe someone who's obviously BS-ing and have no idea what they're talking about.

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This phrase perfectly describes annual CNY flower markets, a Hong Kong beach on a sunny summer's day, or even Admiralty MTR station's interchange platform during rush hour. It basically means something along the lines of ‘people as far as the eye can see’ (from the mountain to the sea).

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Ever feel like your significant other wants to talk, hang out, check up on your whereabouts, and ask you to do things for them 24 hours a day? Your amour may have what we call ‘princess disease’, symptoms of which include the need for constant texting, eating together, whining about being apart, and an incessant stream of ‘buy me [blank]!’ 

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No, this isn’t something you say when you want your mutt to do his or her business. Instead, this expression is the Canto equivalent of ‘raining cats and dogs’. Brevity is indeed the soul of wit, and the Cantonese phrase has fewer syllables than its English counterpart.