鹹魚

See also: 咸鱼

Chinese

		salty	fish
trad. (鹹魚/咸魚)		鹹/咸	魚
simp. (咸鱼)		咸	鱼

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xiányú

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄢˊ ㄩˊ

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): haam⁴ jyu^4-2 / haam⁴ jyu⁴

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): ham³ ngui^3-4

• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): hàm-ǹg
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): kiâm-hî / kiâm-hû / kiâm-hîr

  (Teochew, Peng'im): giam⁵ he⁵

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ⁶ghe-ng

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiányú
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄢˊ ㄩˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siányú
    • Wade–Giles: hsien²-yü²
    • Yale: syán-yú
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyanyu
    • Palladius: сяньюй (sjanʹjuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɛn³⁵ y³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: haam⁴ jyu^4-2 / haam⁴ jyu⁴
    • Yale: hàahm yú / hàahm yùh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: haam⁴ jy^4-2 / haam⁴ jy⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ham⁴ yu^4-2 / ham⁴ yu⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /haːm²¹ jyː²¹⁻³⁵/, /haːm²¹ jyː²¹/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: ham³ ngui^3-4
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ham²² ᵑɡui²²⁻²¹/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: hàm-ǹg
    • Hakka Romanization System: hamˇ ngˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ham² ng²
    • Sinological IPA: /ham¹¹ ŋ̍¹¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Taichung, Yilan, Hsinchu, Jinjiang, Philippines)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kiâm-hî
    • Tâi-lô: kiâm-hî
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kiamhii
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kiam²³⁻³³ hi²³/
    • IPA (Tainan, Yilan): /kiam²⁴⁻³³ hi²⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Jinjiang, Philippines): /kiam²⁴⁻²² hi²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /kiam¹³⁻²² hi¹³/
  • (Hokkien: Taipei, Magong, Penang)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kiâm-hû
    • Tâi-lô: kiâm-hû
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kiamhuu
    • IPA (Taipei): /kiam²⁴⁻¹¹ hu²⁴/
    • IPA (Penang): /kiam²³⁻²¹ hu²³/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Lukang, Sanxia, Kinmen, Hsinchu, Singapore)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kiâm-hîr
    • Tâi-lô: kiâm-hîr
    • IPA (Singapore): /kiam²⁴⁻²¹ hɯ²⁴/
    • IPA (Kinmen): /kiam²⁴⁻¹² hɯ²⁴/
    • IPA (Lukang): /kiam²⁴⁻²² hɨ²⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kiam²⁴⁻²² hɯ²⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: giam⁵ he⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kiâm hṳ̂
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kiam⁵⁵⁻¹¹ hɯ⁵⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶ghe-ng
    • MiniDict: ghe^去 ng
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³hhe-ngg
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɦe²² ŋ̍⁴⁴/

Noun

鹹魚

1. salted fish (Classifier: 條／条 m c)

   鹹魚雞粒炒飯 [Cantonese, trad.]
   咸鱼鸡粒炒饭 [Cantonese, simp.]

   haam⁴ jyu^4-2 gai¹ lap¹ caau² faan⁶ [Jyutping]

   fried rice with salted fish and diced chicken

2. (Cantonese, colloquial, figurative) zombie; corpse (Classifier: 條／条 c)

   • 做人如果冇夢想，同條鹹魚有咩分別呀？ [Cantonese, trad.]
     做人如果冇梦想，同条咸鱼有咩分别呀？ [Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 2001, Stephen Chow, Shaolin Soccer

     zou⁶ jan⁴ jyu⁴ gwo² mou⁵ mung⁶ soeng², tung⁴ tiu⁴ haam⁴ jyu^4-2 jau⁵ me¹ fan¹ bit⁶ aa³? [Jyutping]

     Being a man without a dream, what's the difference with a salted fish/dried corpse?

3. (Hong Kong Cantonese) passenger (bus-driver jargon)

Synonyms

• (salted fish):

Dialectal synonyms of 鹹魚 (“salted fish”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		鹹魚
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	鹹魚
	Singapore	鹹魚
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	鹹魚
Cantonese	Guangzhou	鹹魚
	Hong Kong	鹹魚
	Taishan	鹹魚
	Dongguan	鹹魚
	Singapore (Guangfu)	鹹魚
Gan	Lichuan	醃魚, 乾魚
	Pingxiang	鹹魚
Hakka	Meixian	鹹仔
	Xingning	鹹魚哩
Southern Min	Xiamen	鹹魚
	Tainan	鹹魚
	Penang (Hokkien)	鹹魚
	Singapore (Hokkien)	鹹魚
	Singapore (Teochew)	鹹魚
	Haikou	鹹魚
Wu	Shanghai	鹹魚
	Suzhou	鹹魚, 魚乾
	Hangzhou	鹹魚
Xiang	Loudi	鹹魚

Derived terms

• 老貓鼻子上掛鹹魚／老猫鼻子上挂咸鱼
• 買鹹魚放生／买咸鱼放生
• 食得鹹魚抵得渴／食得咸鱼抵得渴
• 鹹魚翻生／咸鱼翻生
• 鹹魚翻身／咸鱼翻身 (xiányú fānshēn)
• 鹹魚返生／咸鱼返生