What's "cute" in Hokkien?

Itaq · Post by **Itaq** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 1:41 pm

Anyone know the word for "cute" in Hokkien? I have heard the expression "ko chui" used by Taiwanese, but is this expression standard Hokkien?

niuc · Post by **niuc** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 2:09 pm

cute = ko`2-cui1 is more original than kho2-ai3 (from Mandarin ke3ai4).

hong · Post by **hong** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 3:34 pm

The hanzi could be 古椎 =樸實引申為天真可愛。
http://www.csnn.com.cn/csnn0409/ca277801.htm

Itaq · Post by **Itaq** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 11:40 pm

Thanks for clearing that up. Though ko cui is the more orginal form, is it commonly used by Hokkien speakers in SE Asia? I don't think I ever heard of it while I was in Malaysia or Singapore.

hong · Post by **hong** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 12:56 am

Because we have limited vocabulary.Any special minnan word using by actors in taiwanese tv drama would be a big problem for many people in south east asia.
actors also use koo2-kiat8, khiau2-chng1, kian3-tiu1

Itaq · Post by **Itaq** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 9:20 am

btw, what are the hanzi equivalents of the 3 alternatives for cute you've given?

hong · Post by **hong** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 12:11 pm

still unknown yet.only 巧裝khiau chng 巧路=khiau loo

Sim · Post by **Sim** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 10:07 am

Hi All,

In my very limited Penang Hokkien, I would say "cu1 bi3" for "cute".

Sim.

hong · Post by **hong** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 12:12 pm

趣味 chhu-bi is not cute but 有意思，有趣=interesting and hobby as well
bo-chhu-bi=boring

Itaq · Post by **Itaq** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 4:40 am

Yes, many Hokkien speakers in SE Asia mistake "chhu-bi" for cute in their speech or rather "chhu-bi" has also assumed the meaning of cute by these speakers.

Hong....As I am new to the forum, just curious...What romanization system do you use? And in terms of tone marks (numbers), which style are you using? The tone numbers I have in my Minnan language books by Taiwanese authors are different from the ones used by mainland writers. What is the standard or more commonly accepted one? Or is there one? Sorry if you have answered this before.

Another question on word usage....the word for wind 'hong' is used by Taiwanese (in conversations, song lyrics) and radio anouncers in Xiamen. But my family has always used 'huang' in spoken language...ancestral home is Nam-Oa (Nan-an). I hear most people in SE Asia using the Chuan-chiu dialect form 'huang' (Please correct me if I am wrong). I know that Teo-chiu also use 'huang' as well.

I was wondering....Do you (or anyone for that matter) know the reason why 'hong' is the dominant form in Taiwan? I thought that over half of the Minnan speakers in Taiwan traces their roots back to Chuan-chiu (especially those in the northern part of the island).