Sayings
Sayings
- zhoaan-piexnpien
- to make all necessary preparations
- afpuikiern
- muscleman
- zexpag-hiornglaam; ze pag, ngx laam (坐北向南)
- (for a sunny home) sit (situated) north, face towards south
- U ciah køq u liah.
- You have eaten and you take something. refers to when you are a guest at someone's home. You are fed as well as given things to take home.
- Chitzhuix-pøehcih
- seven mouths, eight tongues: all talking at once
- Ciah khaq toaxkhof
- eat well
- Harnji na thak øe bad, zhuiechiw tøh phaq sifkad.
- (It means that you can't understand all the Han characters even if you studied until you could tie your beard into a knot.)
- chitkorng-pøehkorng 七講八講
- wag one's tongue too freely
- korng-peqzhat
- to tell a lie
- Ciah ti syn, zheng ti bin.
- Eating is for your body and wearing is for your appearance.
- Ciaqpng hongtex-toa. (Ciah png hongtex toa.)
- When eating dinner, you feel you were as great as a king.
- Kutlat ciah, pintvoa zøx. (Kutlat ciaqlat, pintvoa thwn noa.)
- Eats hard but work lazy.
- Uxthaau-uxbøea.
- From the beginning to the end.
- Kaki, khvoax bøextiøh hvi'ar. (Hvi'ar svef nng hiøh, kaki khvoax be tiøh.)
- Nobody can see their own ears.
- Cidhvi jip, cidhvi zhud. (Cid'hvixkhafng jip, cid'hvixkhafng zhud.)
- One ear in and one ear out.
- Toaxlat, siøhlat.
- Make efforts, work efficiently.
- Toa si hviaf, søex si ti.
- Older brother is on the leader, younger brother is the follower.
- Svahøex kax goxhøex.
- A three-year old kid teaches a five-year old kid.
- Svaf korng, six mxtiøh.
- Speak three times make four times errors.
- Sva'ee laang, kviaa goxtiaau-lo.
- Three people try to walk on five roads.
- Hog tøe hog jiin ky.
- the lucky land does a lucky person live
- Hør giah bøo køex svaf tai.
- richness(fortune) does not last past three generations.
- Ciaqpng ciah ka laukvoa, zøx khangkhøex zøx ka uiekvoaa.
- Eat till you sweat but work till you are chilled ( you work harder to eat than to do work )
- Zhunthvy auxbuo bin. (Zhunthvy auxbuo bin, bøeq piexn cit sikafn.)
- spring weather changes frequently (like a step mother face/mood)
- Naxu ieen, øe zørhøea. (U ieen bøo ieen, tagkef laai zørhøea.)
- Svaf nii cidhoarn, go nii cidloan
- chinchviu teq uxn tauxiuu, from http://taiwan-id.blogspot.com/
- Cidlaang ciah cidpvoax, kafmzeeng poaa boe soax. (Cidlaang ciah cidpvoax, kafmzeeng ciaq bøexsvoax.)
Table
| MTL | Harnji | English |
|---|---|---|
| hvoathaau-hybin | 歡頭喜面 | beaming with joy, all smiles |
| hoanthiefn-hytøe; hvoathvy-hytøe | 歡天喜地 | exceedingly glad, jumping with joy |
| Hvixkhafng khaq tang. / hvixkhafng-tang | 耳空重 | Ear hole is heavier (hard of hearing) |
| Hvixkhafng-tang ee laang kofng'oe chinchviu teq siøme. | 耳空重的人講話親像咧相罵 | Heavy-ear-hole-people talking [sounds] just like they are scolding/fighting |
| Toaxkeq-køef ban thii. | 大格雞慢啼 | Larger-breed chicken slower to crow. |
| Liao cvii, siauzay. | 了錢消災 | spend money, avert calamity |
| Mxkviaf cidban, siong kviaf baxn'id. | 毋驚一萬上驚萬一 | people are not afraid of spending money, but they are afraid of something unexpected |