<p>As can be gleaned from the fact that it is usually represented in Zhuyin, ㄎㄧㄤ is a bit of slang used primarily in Taiwan, especially among young people. </p>

<p>ㄎ with ㄧ (or k + i in Pinyin) is not a legitimate combination of sounds for modern Mandarin, so it's not likely to have originated there.</p>

<p>Its primary meaning is hard to pin down, but "goofy" (see for example <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/taiwan/comments/3tj236/my_taiwanesemandarin_slang_is_from_the_90s_what/" rel="noreferrer">this Reddit thread</a> but also its use in <a href="http://kiangrenriji.blogspot.com/" rel="noreferrer">this blog name</a>), "tipsy", "dazed", "in awe" are all possible interpretations. The images on this <a href="https://tw.appledaily.com/new/realtime/20150908/686711/" rel="noreferrer">AppleDaily post</a> might be helpful.</p>

<p>This <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/taiwan/comments/3tj236/my_taiwanesemandarin_slang_is_from_the_90s_what/" rel="noreferrer">Reddit</a> thread suggests that it is not a feature of older Taiwanese people, and probably does not come from the Taiwanese varieties of Minnan (i.e. Hokkien). However, this sound (in a high level tone) does exist in Taiwanese, meaning "to steal or snatch". Dictionaries generally <a href="https://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/result_detail.jsp?n_no=5808&amp;curpage=1&amp;sample=khiang&amp;radiobutton=1&amp;querytarget=1&amp;limit=20&amp;pagenum=1&amp;rowcount=3" rel="noreferrer">write it as 勍</a>; it is also written as 鏘 by <a href="https://www.nownews.com/news/20160530/2116744/" rel="noreferrer">some sources</a>. Whether this could have conceivably been extended to the meanings of this slang term - that is something less well defined. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-31T17:05:43.467Z
2019-01-31T17:05:43.467Z
Michaelyus
<p>I have to say, in some ways, Kiang equals Jiang, because &quot;J&quot; could have different pronounce especially between English and Spanish so people replace j to k for a easier pronounce.</p>
<p>&quot;J&quot; in English is &quot;Jay&quot;, but &quot;J&quot; in Spanish is the same pronounce with &quot;H&quot; in English.(that's why you see people text &quot;jajaja&quot;,which means &quot;hahaha&quot;).</p>
<p>So, what is kiang in mandarin is just the same answer to jiang. Jiang could be 江(river, or a last name)，姜(ginger)，蒋(just a last name)...</p>
<p>Actually, my last name is jiang, and my English name is kiang. that is why I am here to answer you, dear remote friend.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-06-20T17:29:07.537Z
your logic makes sense for english, which has no way to write the exact accurate should of chinese.  However zhuyin is completely able to write every mandarin sound accurately, and has no reason to change ㄐ to ㄎ or ㄓ to ㄗ etcetc.
zagrycha
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-06-17T14:12:07.780Z
2024-06-17T14:12:07.780Z
Kiang老江
<p>It could be the pronunciation of &quot;锵&quot; in Taiwanese/Hokkien dialect.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-06-17T16:02:58.757Z
2024-06-17T16:02:58.757Z
r13
<p>Have seen this word in video comments and cannot find a reference for it anywhere??</p>

<p>Some details:</p>

<ul>
<li>Always rendered in zhuyin (ㄎㄧㄤ) even in otherwise ideographic text</li>
<li>Doesn't appear to be a native Mandarin syllable (Taiwanese loanword?)</li>
<li>Appears to be gamer slang (frequently appears on game screencasts)</li>
<li>Can seemingly be randomly inserted into otherwise valid sentences with no apparent change in meaning?</li>
</ul>

<mandarin><slang><taiwan><zhuyin-fuhao>
Identify Mandarin word - "kiāng"
# Identify Mandarin word - "kiāng"

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-01-31)

Have seen this word in video comments and cannot find a reference for it anywhere??

Some details:

* Always rendered in zhuyin (ㄎㄧㄤ) even in otherwise ideographic text
* Doesn't appear to be a native Mandarin syllable (Taiwanese loanword?)
* Appears to be gamer slang (frequently appears on game screencasts)
* Can seemingly be randomly inserted into otherwise valid sentences with no apparent change in meaning?

**Tags:** mandarin, slang, taiwan, zhuyin-fuhao


---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-01-31. Score: 7

As can be gleaned from the fact that it is usually represented in Zhuyin, ㄎㄧㄤ is a bit of slang used primarily in Taiwan, especially among young people.

ㄎ with ㄧ (or k + i in Pinyin) is not a legitimate combination of sounds for modern Mandarin, so it's not likely to have originated there.

Its primary meaning is hard to pin down, but "goofy" (see for example [this Reddit thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/taiwan/comments/3tj236/my_taiwanesemandarin_slang_is_from_the_90s_what/) but also its use in [this blog name](http://kiangrenriji.blogspot.com/)), "tipsy", "dazed", "in awe" are all possible interpretations. The images on this [AppleDaily post](https://tw.appledaily.com/new/realtime/20150908/686711/) might be helpful.

This [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/taiwan/comments/3tj236/my_taiwanesemandarin_slang_is_from_the_90s_what/) thread suggests that it is not a feature of older Taiwanese people, and probably does not come from the Taiwanese varieties of Minnan (i.e. Hokkien). However, this sound (in a high level tone) does exist in Taiwanese, meaning "to steal or snatch". Dictionaries generally [write it as 勍](https://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/result_detail.jsp?n_no=5808&curpage=1&sample=khiang&radiobutton=1&querytarget=1&limit=20&pagenum=1&rowcount=3); it is also written as 鏘 by [some sources](https://www.nownews.com/news/20160530/2116744/). Whether this could have conceivably been extended to the meanings of this slang term - that is something less well defined.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2024-06-17. Score: 0

I have to say, in some ways, Kiang equals Jiang, because "J" could have different pronounce especially between English and Spanish so people replace j to k for a easier pronounce.

"J" in English is "Jay", but "J" in Spanish is the same pronounce with "H" in English.(that's why you see people text "jajaja",which means "hahaha").

So, what is kiang in mandarin is just the same answer to jiang. Jiang could be 江(river, or a last name)，姜(ginger)，蒋(just a last name)...

Actually, my last name is jiang, and my English name is kiang. that is why I am here to answer you, dear remote friend.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: your logic makes sense for english, which has no way to write the exact accurate should of chinese.  However zhuyin is completely able to write every mandarin sound accurately, and has no reason to change ㄐ to ㄎ or ㄓ to ㄗ etcetc.  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2024-06-17. Score: 0

It could be the pronunciation of "锵" in Taiwanese/Hokkien dialect.


---

