Teochew Words That are Hard to Translate into English

For a change, I thought I'd make an original (wow!) post, so I wanted to throw in some fun words that I think are relatively hard to translate into English (or require many words to describe). Now, some of these may have easy translations into other languages, but it's takes some creativity to say it in Engbhūng.

Gáogoit
Rubbed off dead skin. This is my favorite, because I don't know of any other languages that have a word for this. Perhaps someone can enlighten me. All good Teochew parents teach their children how to clean themselves, and it takes a daily regimen of rubbing away gáogoit.

Mimi
Something shut closed but with a slit or small crack of showing. Mākmimi is someone's eye's that are closed so tight you can only see the slits. Perhaps "chink" would work.


 


Bhọlẹng-ūi
There's nothing you can do about it, there's no satisfactory way to do anything about this.

Lōng
To slide an object into a relatively small opening. Something like sliding a chopstick into a hole, or reach in with one's hand into a bag.

Tīktō
This one doesn't describe anything unique, but encompasses vacations, play, leisure, and doing anything for fun or enjoyment.

Have any more? Share them in comments!

Teochew Accents!

Time to hear some accents from around the Teochew world, we'll start with Vietnam and Cambodia. I'm gonna analyze how these individuals speak Teochew and perhaps we can understand some "typical" characteristics of regional Teochew speech (keep in mind some of it may be individual aberrations):

1. Vietnam - Thuan Loi's Gang-hu Dē Demonstration (quite good actually to see a hạose:nāng doing this)

- Any tone 5 (such as 個 gāi) becomes more of a tone 6 (so, 個 gái)
- 杯 bue, sounds more like bui
- 沖茶 chongdē, becomes songdē (this is a very typical change CH -> S for Vietnamese TC speakers)

2. Cambodia - Teochew People Celebrating New Year's Eve (aka Sa:japmē) in Phnom Penh

- (.48) 好就 hòjiụ is a very common connector between sentences, means "and then"
- (4.55) 零顆 lạnglò, meaning "some", very common
- (6.35) 每 mué is pronounced múi
- ang-he meaning "this way"


 

Mué oi!

Yes, I've been searching videos like crazy on Youku 尤酷 a Chinese internet video website. Found this hilarious video ... the guy is pretty funny, though a little old for high school! This video is about finding love in unexpected places... ha ha ha. Plus the Teochew is quite easy to understand. Enjoy this video from the artist Dio: Chiụ Tōng 張樹桐 It's from an album called "Che:-I" or "Green Shirt". He has some other videos that poke fun.

Teochew Artist: Ku Họng Ù 邱洪宇

Next Teochew artist is Ku Họng Ù 邱洪宇 (his family name might be pronounced "kiu"). This video probably has the highest production value I've ever seen from a Teochew music video (Produced by Dongo Music 東音社 - website seems out of commission) Plus, his voice is pretty damn good - it reminds me of Richie and he even looks a bit like him too. I think its great that this guy wrote a song about his momma and she's even in the video too! Schweeeeeet - Teochew people coming UP in the modern music world!

Teochew Artist: Dio: Mạng Hōng 張夢虹

*NEWS FLASH*: This just in: a singer who sings in Teochew, and the music is MODERN. Don't believe me? Take a listen. This song is called  《Chiù Kang Chiù Giā: 手牽手行》Yeah, its a bit cutesy and sounds kind of like a lot of Mandarin/Cantonese music out there, but freak man, it's modern! Apparently she is from 普寧 Pouleng (and you can tell by the way she says 汝 lèu as lù). Enjoy! I've included a direct video for her song Chiù Kang Chiù Giā:. Also here is a link to another of her songs 《Hue Mịng Ngiao 花面貓》