For anyone hoping to keep up with Hong Kong's highly idiomatic Cantonese, sites such as Discuss.com.hk and Hkgolden.com are vital resources. Trendy expressions, or chiu yu, are constantly being coined by the young people who dominate online forums.
Some of the vernacular has seeped into mainstream use as the Chinese tabloid press and other media pick up on it. Those not plugged into this youth culture can find it incomprehensible: a teenager who 'drips sweat' (dik hon) because his laptop 'struck wood' (daa caai) is actually speechless with embarrassment and confusion because the machine gave out while he was trying to show off.
But a slew of books has emerged over the summer to help us make sense of the latest phrases. Publisher and writer Jimmy Pang Chi-ming, who has released several books on local street language, says Cantonese slang is a misnomer for such expressions.
'It should be called Hong Kong slang because, culturally, Hong Kong is the most international city. Hong Kong slang is the liveliest form of language ever. It's one of a kind and that's why I find it so fascinating. People outside Hong Kong wouldn't understand our slang,' he says, referring to phrases derived from Japanese, Taiwanese, Korean, French and Indian words.
His new book, Mong Kok Phrases, draws on the vibrant street culture of a district he knows well. Pang, 53, grew up in Mong Kok and still lives and works there.
'Mong Kok is the most culturally significant place in Hong Kong. The district has easy transport access so it gathers people from all walks of life. There's nowhere better to study trendy expressions,' Pang says.
Primary school teacher Adrian So was among the first to bring chiu yu to broader attention two years when he issued a set of 42 flash cards on the latest expressions, along with a booklet explaining their origins and usage.
