Sunday 5 June 2022

mong ka mong ciu - what do you think this mean

Soon after Lim Dai Kims 林大欽 wife finished teaching the children a nursery rhyme, Lim Dai Kim said:

a1di6 a1mue6mue6

阿弟阿妹妹

Girls and boys

Se5deng5 zoin5 lo2 mou6 houn2sai1

祠堂前裸舞虎獅

(there) is a lion dance in front of the ancestral hall

mou6 houn2sai1 or some say as mong6 houn2sai1 means to dance a lion dance 舞虎獅 The subtitles use the wrong mou6 character and even native speakers write incorrectly.

You should know to dance is said as tiao3bhu2 跳舞

and this character is said as bhu2 when it is used as a noun and mou6 or mong6 when used as a verb.

There is another Teochew expression: mong6 ka1 mong6 ciu2 舞骹舞手 and before I could read Chinese, I used to think it was mong5 ka1 mong5 ciu2 摸骹摸手 i.e. a man getting fresh with a lady and touching her. Well, mong6 ka1 mong6 ciu2 舞骹舞手 means to move one’s hands and legs.


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