Words and Phrases

by Frederic A. “Jim” Silva

This is an edited compilation of material almost entirely from articles by Frederic A. “Jim” Silva published in the UMA Bulletin. Sounds of the words and phrases, recorded by Maria de Carvalho e Rego Machado Marques have been added. There are minor differences between the pronunciations and spellings here and those in Maquista Chapado
Click on to listen to a sound, and on to read a recipe.

Macanese	English
ade cabidela/capidela	dish of duck cooked in its blood
alho com cobra	bitter enemies
aluar	a sweet block made from grated coconut, Chinese brown sugar, almonds and pine-nuts, served at Christmas (representing the bed of the Christ-child)
amorchai	cute, charming
arroz caregado	pressed rice, accompanying porco balichão tamarindo/tamarinho
atai de rua	loafer, rude person
azinha	(verb) quick, (adverb) quickly
bafo de ade	painfully long-winded; reference to the breath of the non-stopping quacking duck
baji	sweet made with grated coconut and glutinous rice
balichão	Macanese condiment based on salted krill
bate peito	praying in a fervent manner. usually attributed to a religious hypocrite. literally, chest-beater.
bebinca/bebinga de leite	a rich pudding made with egg yolks, butter and coconut with a baked toasted crust
bicho de festa	great party goer or giver
bicho balichão	a restless person
boca cheira leite	disparaging reference to someone immature; literally, mouth smelling milk, implying that weaning is not over
boca grande	boaster, braggart. literally, big mouth.
bom cara	handsome
booyão	a large earthenware storage jar
busca sarna	look for unnecessary trouble
cabeça de atong	one who could be counted on to do the wrong thing
cabeça de vento	forgetful, plain giddy
cabeça grande	instigator of schemes and ideas which are not favored
cabeçudo	stubborn
cacoose	latrine (from the Dutch cak huis)
cai peh, cai mung	give up easily, demoralized
capela	tasty meat loaf with cheese, usually set in a ring mold
cara de cu	not a candidate for a beauty contest
chau chau chili	pork with chilli, preserved Chinese radish and often with tao see (Chinese black beans)
chipi	to squeeze
choler	to shovel (as with a spoon)
chouriço sutate	pork sausage with soy sauce
chouriço vinho alho	pork sausage with wine and garlic
chubi	to pinch
chuchu	to poke, to prod
dali dos mão	playing a couple of hands. also used to denote philandering.
dali dos mão com ingles	doubtful paternity
diabo	a rich spicy stew made with left-over roast meats
embigo pegado	close friends
festa de quebra testa	great party
fica chupa dedo	left with nothing
fingi tolo	play dumb
fingido	insincere, two-faced
fruto de autono	autumn fruit, last of the litter
fula pedo	the foul smelling lantana flower
galo doido or namorador	playboy, womanizer
gantaria	fussy, too self important
gato manso	sneaky, sly, surreptitious
gavata ate osso de bur-bur	intensive investigation
gungdung	a sore lump (as on the head)
gohng-gohng	beetle with humming wings, a name used to tease someone, dopey
harmonica	beef rissoles
juga soco	fist fight
ladu	sweet made with glutinous rice, pine nuts, coconut, and almond meal and dusted wtih roast bean flour
lalala	cockle; bi-valve shell fish
lingua de prata	(silver-tongue) charmer, flatterer
lingua torto	(twisted tongue) speech impediment
ma lingua	(bad tongue) gossip, backbiting
macaco velho	old monkey, worldly wise
mete fogo	instigate trouble
mezinha	medicine
minchi/minchy	the omnipresent dish made with mince meat (usually beef, pork or a mixture both), typically served with little crisp fried potato cubes
miçó/missó Cristão	minced pork with soy beans sprouts (tai tau nga choy in Cantonese)
moochy	small pastries with a filling of grated coconut and roasted bean flour
moorong	depressed
muito quere	love very much
nung pode mas de querer	love to distraction
nung quero reva	hope you don’t mind
olho de gavão	sharp eyes, eagle eyed
olho dekka	anus
olho kakai	cross-eyed
olhos infiado	cock-eyed
oui de	extreme, excessive, abundant (as in oui de fierce)
pata choca	stick in the mud
peekanino (pequeno)	small
pele	dried pork rind (kohn chee pey in Cantonese) and ingredient used in tacho
piti pótó	sickly, weak
porco balichão tamarindo	distinctive stew made of pork and balichão, sweetened with brown sugar and rendered tart with tamarin; always served with arroz carregado
quebra cabeça	puzzling over something
qui ramede	what a calamity
ramata	the rest of
ranca olho	stare intensely, glare at
rei do bolo	cherished one (brat?)
rusa-rusa	faltering
sakana	s.o.b.
sarão muroon	unkempt, sloppy
sayão	pity (as in “what a pity”)
sinti galanti	feel odd, feel unwell
soong	(Cantonese) any food accompanying rice or noodles
soo soo	to dispense with charges, free
soompeter	pea-shooter
strika	to iron; from the Dutch strijken via Malay to Macanese
sutate	soy sauce
tacho	a stew made with pork, pele, cabbage and Chinese sausages
takanada	technique, strategy, adept know-how
ting ting por ting ting	a full, detailed and comprehensive recitation of events
tomar jeito	putting on airs
tung tung mung tung	dazed, confused
unchindo	very little; same as oui de pouco
unha com carne	thick as thieves. literally, nail and flesh
vagar vagar	very slowly
yuh	one of the suffixes thrown in to complete a sentence, like meh or suh

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Words and Phrases

Macanese

English