gohngsimi @ work

what are the most common slangs we use in the workplace you might ask.. for the overworked front line staff there is bound to be a slang or two used to good effect in daily grouses about work and your superiors. with influences from a short course i took in conversational korean, i have taken the liberty to add my version of intonation to the dialect slangs. "gk" denotes a stronger "g" sound with a tinge of "k", "kk" denotes a stronger "k" sound than usual. Some subtle inflections can't be reflected in accuracy here but if you have suggestions on how to better reflect the subtle nuances in the common dialects featured here, pls feel free to share your tips.


I have earnestly attempted to clarify and explain some of the common slangs i have heard so far, i don't claim for them to be complete so feel free to suggest a better explanation if you think of something better : -

- bao gka liao (a.k.a bao swahh bao hai): responsible for everything under the sun at work which translates to a job description out of your control to the point of infinity.

- kkio sai : literally picking up shit, i.e cleaning up another's unfavourable mess

- chope seng ah : reserve a seat / place first

- kanasai : an exclamation in instances where crap jobs are being forced upon oneself or when injustice is served.

- ggiam chye miah : literally salted vegetable life, i.e a life destined to slog.

- boh liaoh : when referring to someone who is spouting nonsense, non related subject.

- boh liao : in this lower intonation for "liao",the meaning changes to not having the adequate skills to perform in the job

- sah kah : someone who knows how to curry favor or lick their boss' boots

- jjia gan dahng : in hokkien meaning eat potato, i.e educated with western teachings.

- "yah yah papaya" : used to denote a person who has an arrogant air about them, something like that of an aristocrat.

- jjia zhua : literally eat snake , i.e skive,unofficial time out during working hours

- boh lahng zai : in hokkien translates to "nobody knows".usually used to punctuate an act of "jjia zhua" thinking that nobody knows their unofficial escapades.

- ccao gehng : person who is brilliant at coming up with ways on how to avoid additional jobs/ tasks being delegated to them or always not around when they are most needed.

that's all for today. this list will continually be updated whenever new phrases are discovered or brought to my attention.