Proverbs Flashcards
Learn commonly used proverbs in every day speech
Ghost patting the back of your neck
“Let out a secret unknowingly”
gwai2 paak3 hau6 mei5 jam2
鬼拍後尾枕
Dress up as a ghost, dress up as a horse
- “To play a role to deceive somebody”
- “To dress up for fun”
baan6 gwai2 baan6 ma5
扮鬼扮馬
Trick ghost to eat tofu!
“To lure someone into a trap, to trick someone”
aak1 gwai2 sik6 dau6 fu6
扮鬼扮馬
Ghost covering eyes
- “To fail to see something”
- “To fail to find something”
gwai2 am2 ngaan5
鬼揞眼
“Money makes the world go round”
yau5 chin2 sai2 dak1 gwai2 teui1 mo4
有錢使得鬼推磨
Ghost drawing
“Poor handwriting”
gwai2 waak6 fu4
鬼畫符
One more incense, one more ghost
- “The more people in the business, the less”
- “A foolish act to invite losses”
do1 go3 heung1 lou4 do1 jek3 gwai2
多個香爐多隻鬼
A ghost eats mud
- “To gabble or murmur”
- “To say something not clear to be understood”
gwai2 sik6 nai4
A chicken eats fireflies
“To understand without stating the obvious”
gai1 sik6 fong3 gwong1 chung4
To eat someone’s cart (car)
“To reap an excessively large profit from the other party in the deal”
sik6 yan4 jek3 gui1(che1)
To eat a dead cat
“To be a scapegoat”
sik6 sei2 maau1
3721
“The facts of the matter”
saam1 chaat1 yi6 sap6 yat1
Two headed snake
- “Someone works for both sides in a deal”
- “A servant of two masters”
leung5 tau4 se4
Ten tea pots and nine lids
“Demand outnumbers supply; not enough”
sap6 go3 cha4 wu2 gau2 go3 goi3
Hitting everyone on the boat with a punt pole
- “Blame a whole group of people for one person’s mistake”
- “To over generalize”
yat1 juk1 gou1 da2 yat1 syun4 yan4
In a crisis, a horse can move in the field
“To be flexible in an emergency”
si6 gap1 ma5 hang4 tin4
When one’s horse dies, one has to walk
“To keep pushing on in the face of great difficulty”
ma5 sei2 lok6 dei6 haang4
If a cow doesn’t want to drink you can’t force it’s head down
“If someone is unwilling to do something, it’s not possible to force them”
ngau4 m4 yam2 seui2, m4 gam6 dak1 ngau4 tau4 dai1
To pull a cow up a tree
“To try to do something that is almost impossible to achieve”
laai1 ngau4 seung5 syu6
The chickens are fighting in the coop
“Internal dispute or rebellion”
lung4 leui5 gai1 jok3 faan2
A chicken coop without a door
“A place where you can come and go as you please”
mou5 yim2 gai1 lung4
To pick up a dead chicken
- “To get a good deal unexpectedly”
- “To get the benefit of someone else’s hard work”
jap1 sei2 gai1
A dead chicken pushing back the cooking pot lid
“To refuse to admit when one is in the wrong”
sei2 gai1 chaang3 faan6 koi3
One chicken dies, one chicken crows
“When one person leaves as business or occupation, another will take it up”
yat1 gai1 sei2, yat1 gai1 ming4
To eat slippers rice
“To describe a man who is supported by a woman”
sik6 to1 haai2 faan6
To eat a dead cat
“To be a scapegoat”
sik6 sei2 maau1
The black dog gets the food, the white dog gets the punishment
“Somebody benefits from their wrong doing while the innocent gets blamed”
hak1 gau2 dak1 sik6, baak6 gau2 dong1 joi1
To boil telephone congee
“To talk for hours on the phone”
bou1 din6 wa2 juk1
