[Curly]

Of course we all know that 'ma(3)' and 'ma(4)' mean 'Horse' and 'Mother' in Putonghua, but what about in Cantonese???

Is there any (funny) phrases that are common mistakes for foreigners learning Cantonese?

(Include any Mandarin ones too if you know them...)

[kirlex]

The are many, many. A common one is 'say' which can mean 'death' or '4'.

One that happened to me was I order 'choi sam' at a local restaurant, which was supposed to be a type of boiled vegetable with oyster sauce. I used the wrong tones and the waitress thought that I meant 'take of your clothes'!

[kostas]

how about "da fo gei" "Lighter" or "Hit the waiter"

Anyway, the list goes on for miles..

Neih jung mh jung yi tiuh a? (and you think that you are just asking if he/she likes to dance).. lol ^_^

[Lammarite]

Gau gau gau.

Nine dogs c**ks?! (OK, not exactly, but anyway....next!)

[timklip]

as a teacher, i try to be extra careful when asking for the scissors (gau tseen) so that i don't end up with dog sh!t (gau see)...

[timklip]

i also found out i was committing a major faux pas by giving my students early English reading books as bday gifts...apparently the chinese word for 'book' is similar to the word for 'death'....and therefor books ar not considered an appropriate gift....who knew?

[Tartampion]

Da fei gei : have a wank or take the plane ?

[Lammarite]

Originally Posted by Tartampion

Da fei gei : have a wank or take the plane ?

Tough choice but hopefully the situation would dictate what you were saying!

[kombuchakid]

The New Zealand Focus store has started selling 'TUI' East India old Pale, which is most toohsome with the added bonus of having an easily mispronouncable
name.
Especially after a couple.

[jayinhongkong]

Sounds good, where is this NZ Focus store of which you speak?