<p>I'm a Cantonese and I can read the lyrics, great.</p>

<p>There are mistakes in the song lyrics:</p>

<pre><code>海南鸡饭

＊台湾最近叻歌星数不完
张惠妹称霸哂歌坛
面对香港四大天王
还有新一斑 &lt;-- should be 班
还有SPICE GIRL外国好鬼出名
BACKSTREET BOY只只讲晓弹
看下大马有几只人
同佢丢争两餐
自家歌声差人有限
去开一间海南鸡饭
人客爱招呼冇态慢 &lt;-- should be 怠慢?
明星或歌星日日来帮衬
</code></pre>

<p>Mandarin Translation:</p>

<pre><code>海南鸡饭

台湾最近红的歌星数不完
张惠妹称霸了歌坛
面对香港四大天王
还有新一班
还有 SPICE GIRL 外国好有名
BACKSTREET BOY 每个人都說他們会弹
看下大马有几个人
和他们争两餐(not a proper saying in M​​andarin?)
自家歌声和人差有限
去开一间海南鸡饭
招呼客人无怠慢
明星或歌星天天来光临
</code></pre>

<p>English translation (not literal for every single character, just the meaning):</p>

<pre><code>Hainan Chicken Bowl

There are uncountably many recent outstanding singers in Taiwan
A-Mei* dominated the music industry
To confront the 4 kings** in Hong Kong,
there are a group of new comers.
And there are the Spice Girls which are very famous abroad
Everyone say the Backstreet Boys can play instruments
We take a look at Malaysia, there are a few of them (singers)
We compete against them for daily meals
Local singers (and international singers) only has limited ability difference
We'll go open a Hainan Chicken Bowl (restaurant)
We'll serve the customers with no slacking
Celebrities and singers come every day.

* A famous female Taiwanese singer
** The so called "best" 4 male singers in Hong Kong
</code></pre>

<p>Anyway, the song is pretty weird, just my personal opinion.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-25T18:16:19.140Z
A couple questions: 1) What would ypu say to the answerer-commenter about the liak? 2) What is the function of the kui 鬼 in that phrase "hau kui chut-miang"? AFAIK chut-miang and yôumíng are mostly equivalent, so why is that 鬼 there?
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T01:55:46.003Z
@MickG 1. I'm not sure of liak, do you have the Chinese character for that? 2. We Cantonese also use the 鬼 in 好鬼xx, it simply means very damnable/smart (as adverb) xx. I'm not sure of the chutmiang and youming, I'm not Hakkah
Daniel Cheung
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T01:58:04.300Z
@MickG Also, if you could provide the Chinese characters, I might be able to explain, since I'm not Hakka, I can't read the pronunciation.
Daniel Cheung
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T07:13:17.247Z
For 1), you should look at the answer below. Anyway 叻 liak. For 2), chut-miang is 出名. So "hau kui chut-miang" would mean "very damn chut-miang", i.e. "very damn famous"? OK.
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T07:20:28.910Z
叻 is also used in Cantonese. It means "smart" just like you said, but it also means "awesome", "good" as in 厲害/棒. Here's a place to find the explanation: http://baike.baidu.com/view/80072.htm
Daniel Cheung
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T09:06:23.097Z
For my own benefit, 厲害／棒＝厉害／棒=lìhai/bàng. I know the words, but don't recognize the character for bàng yet, and the other word I only recognized in simplified. Anyway my point is that the answer-comment below suggests that character might be "wrong", so I will wait for him to respond as to what the 靓 he suggests means. I asked on Hakka verse on fb about it. Listening to the song, I am not sure if he sings _liak_ or _liang_. What do you think?
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T09:14:18.123Z
@MickG It wouldn't have been 靚 because that means "pretty", because the line also has "最近", recently. Using "beautiful" with "recently" just doesn't make sense https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VyazYfmmaY
Daniel Cheung
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T09:17:13.533Z
But maybe _liang_ in Hakka means something different from pretty. That-why I'm waiting for the commenter-answerer or the users of Hakka verse to respond. I know _ciang_, spelt with that char, means pretty, but does _liang_ mean the same? I hope they answer...
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T12:31:11.463Z
Seems _liang_ means pretty in Hakka, so the comment/answer below is suggesting something that changes the meaning, and I prefer the original _liak_. But why does using "beautiful" and "recently" not make sense?
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T12:32:36.927Z
Also, could one not just go for `台湾最近红歌星数不完`, without `de`, to fit the first line into the tune in Mandarin?
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T12:41:32.003Z
@MickG No, that's not possible, not even in Cantonese. Hakka must like there sentences simplified. But you can try `台湾近(兒)红的歌星数不完`, that's a bit far fetched though, but `近(兒)` can be made into one single syllable
Daniel Cheung
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T12:45:06.607Z
@MickG It didn't make sense because one does not change its appearance in short period of time (recently beautified?), but you can change your achievement, and getting a bunch of achievements are considered "wow" or `叻`
Daniel Cheung
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T12:46:02.827Z
Regarding [this comment](http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/9651/help-translating-%e6%b5%b7%e5%8d%97%e9%b8%a1%e9%a5%ad-2/14587?noredirect=1#comment24441_14587), why is it not possible? *"their sentences", I guess. Regarding [this one](http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/9651/help-translating-%e6%b5%b7%e5%8d%97%e9%b8%a1%e9%a5%ad-2/14587?noredirect=1#comment24442_14587), ah OK.
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T12:54:50.310Z
@MickG I'm not sure, but my ears didn't like that. Maybe it's 3 syllables in length and in habit we don't like doing that in Mandarin because it doesn't sound nice. And I've never heard `紅歌手` before. I guess that's another question. :/
Daniel Cheung
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-01T23:03:07.357Z
Do you think I got things right [here](http://michelegorini.blogspot.com/2017/08/all-chinese-songs-i-have-met.html) about this song?
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-08T08:51:22.020Z
2015-08-08T09:10:44.147Z
2015-08-08T09:10:44.147Z
Daniel Cheung
<p>I don't have enough reputation to comment.</p>

<p>In Hakka i usually hear 靓 <em>liang</em>, first time seeing 叻 <em>liak</em>. Could use 靓 i guess</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-25T16:46:11.263Z
liang in the sense of...? Clever? Curious how I see that character in the fb group Hakka Verse, with sound ciang, meaning beautiful...
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-25T16:51:27.983Z
For example in "ciang moi cia-ko", "Beautiful women request permission to pass" (or less literally "Here come beauties"), ciang being your char, moi the one in Mandarin mèimei, cia being the character jié for "borrow", and ko the guò of guòqu. Sorry but I can't paste in comments from my mobile and no way I can type those chars.
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T09:20:43.337Z
靚妹借過 | ciang moi cia-ko.
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T09:32:47.947Z
Interestingly, [the 台灣客家話常用詞辭典](http://hakka.dict.edu.tw) has no _liang_ reading for 靚. Nor does [Minhakka's 客英大辭典](http://minhakka.ling.sinica.edu.tw/bkg/bkg.php?gi_gian=eng).
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T09:34:12.260Z
And neither reports a meaning of _liang_ that could fit into the sentence.
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T12:29:26.990Z
And the admin of Hakka Verse on fb says _liang_ means beautiful. So it is not a synonym of _liak_. And _liak_ fits much better here.
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-25T16:23:46.507Z
2015-08-25T16:23:46.507Z
iamanigeeit
<p>I've come across Zhang Shaolin's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VyazYfmmaY" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hoi-nam kai-fan</a> (characters 海南鸡饭, lyrics only in subtitles), a song in Hakka. It is split into three parts. This question concentrates on part 2, <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/9646/help-translating-%E6%B5%B7%E5%8D%97%E9%B8%A1%E9%A5%AD">part 1 being here</a> and <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/9652/help-translating-%E6%B5%B7%E5%8D%97%E9%B8%A1%E9%A5%AD-3">part 3 here</a>. I have trouble translating it. The lyrics from the subs are:</p>

<pre><code>海南鸡饭

＊台湾最近叻歌星数不完
张惠妹称霸哂歌坛
面对香港四大天王
还有新一斑
还有SPICE GIRL外国好鬼出名
BACKSTREET BOY只只讲晓弹
看下大马有几只人
同佢丢争两餐
自家歌声差人有限
去开一间海南鸡饭
人客爱招呼冇态慢
明星或歌星日日来帮衬
</code></pre>

<p>Listening to the video carefully and accurately representing the sounds I hear, and subsequently tweaking the spelling for a "standard" spelling, I got the following transliteration:</p>

<pre><code>Hoi-nam kai-fan

Thoi-wan cui kun liap kuo-sing su put wan
Zhāng Huìmèi ching-pa-sai ko-than
Men-tui Heong-kong si thai then wong
Han yiu sin yit pan
Han yiu SPICE GIRL woi-kiet hau gui chut-miang
BACKSTREET BOY cak-cak kong hiau than
Khon ha Thai-ma yiu ki cak nyin
Thung-ngiap tiu cang lieung chan
Chr-ka ko-sang cha ngin yiu han
Hi hoi yit kan Hoi-nan kai-fan
Ngin-hak oi cau-fu mao thoi-man
Ming-sing wa ko-sing nyit-nyit lei pong-cha
</code></pre>

<p>This is a possible mandarin rendition:</p>

<pre><code>海南鸡饭

＊台湾最近敏歌星数不完
张惠妹称霸了歌坛
面对香港四大天王
还有新一斑
还有SPICE GIRL外国好鬼出名
BACKSTREET BOY个个说会弹
看下大马有几只人
同业忙争两餐
自己歌声差人有限
去开一间海南鸡饭
客人爱招呼没态慢
明星或歌星日日来帮衬
</code></pre>

<p>Notes:</p>

<ol>
<li>涯 is actually meant to have a person radical rather than a water radical, but I can't input it on my computer so I used the closest match; it means "I" and is pronounced "ngai"; replaced with "wǒ";</li>
<li>讲 is kong, Hakka standard for "say"; replaced with "shuō";</li>
<li>唔 is m/ng, a standard Hakka negation; replaced with "bù" in many cases;</li>
<li>只 can be used as a classifier; according to <a href="http://hakka.dict.edu.tw/hakkadict/index.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">my reference</a>, it's cak when classifier and cii when "only"; doubled, it should mean "every", like doubled classifiers can in Mandarin; replaced with gègè, since I interpreted it as "everyone" = "every person";</li>
<li>晓 is hiau; I have learnt this means "can", though this meaning is in my reference only under "晓得"; replaced with "néng";</li>
<li>按 is an; <a href="http://hakka.dict.edu.tw/hakkadict/index.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">my reference</a> says 恁 (an) means "very"; replaced with "hěn";</li>
<li>嘅 is ke; my reference spells that 个, distinguished from classifier 個, and says it means "de"; replaced accordingly;</li>
<li>仔, cai, is a common noun suffix, like 子; after kè it should mean "kèrén"; replaced accordingly;</li>
<li>For 叻 (liap), I had to improvise; according to <a href="http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php?page=worddict&amp;wdrst=0&amp;wdqb=%E5%8F%BB" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MDBG</a>, it means "smart, clever" in Cantonese; replaced with 敏;</li>
<li>哂 is sai; I don't remember where, but I seem to have found some site saying a particle "sai" exists with meaning close to "le"; replaced accordingly;</li>
<li>同佢 sounds like tung-ya; <a href="http://hakka.dict.edu.tw/hakkadict/index.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">my reference</a> says 同业 is pronounced thung-ngiab; replaced accordingly;</li>
<li>丢 is tiu; according to <a href="http://hakka.dict.edu.tw/hakkadict/index.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">my reference</a>, it means <code>來回奔忙</code>; replaced with 忙;</li>
<li>That rénkè is Hakka for kèrén, as <a href="http://hakka.dict.edu.tw/hakkadict/index.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">my reference</a> states; replaced accordingly;</li>
<li>冇 is mau; the character means "not have", or anyway the opposite of "yǒu"; that would be 无, only it's pronounced mo according to my reference; replaced with "méi" anyway;</li>
<li>There are some <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/9653/strange-pronunciations-in-hakka-song">strange pronunciations</a>: 张惠妹 is pronounced with Mandarin pronunciation (save for sh = s), 来 is sometimes pronounced lei instead of loi, 好 and 无 (actually 冇) are hau and mau, and the reference states they should be mo and ho, 两 is lioeng (compare Cantonese loeng).</li>
</ol>

<p>With all that, my attempt would be:</p>

<pre><code>Hainanese Chicken rice

＊Clever song stars from Taiwan lately are countless
Zhang Huimei has proclaimed himself leader of the stage
I see the Hong Kong Four Great Kings
And there's still the new lot:
There's still Spice Girl, very cunning, foreign and famous,
BACKSTREET BOY: everyone says he can play,
I look down and in Malaysia there are a few people;
My colleagues are always busy fighting for two meals.
Differently from people, my voice has limits.
So I go boil a Hainanese Chicken rice
Guests will say hello and are not so slow:    (oi = yào, and I supposed mau thoi man = bù tài màn)
They financially help stars and song stars every day.
</code></pre>

<p>As you can understand, the problems are many. I will make a few points.</p>

<ol>
<li>Is that interpretation of liap right?</li>
<li>And what about the sai?</li>
<li>Is "thung-ngiab tiu co fan-pan" correctly translated?</li>
<li>The last two lines before the #, are they right?</li>
<li>Is the translation right from # to "cak-cak lei (loi) pong-cham"?</li>
</ol>

<p><strong>Edit:</strong>
@Stan's comment below reads thus:</p>

<pre><code>(only know Cantonese but they are similar.)
1. Not exact. 叻 basically means doing well in something, not necessarily "clever".
And it's awful to translate it as 敏 in Mandarin, because the single character 敏 sounds too archaic.
2. Correct. 哂 is similar to 了 (le). It marks the "perfect tense".
3. "同 佢丢 争两餐" here 佢丢 should mean they (like 佢地 in Cantonese).
4.5. "人客爱招呼冇态慢 明星或歌星日日来帮衬". Here, I don't clearly understand what 态慢
means but I catch it as "怠慢" in Mandarin. And 帮衬 means "be his guest". So this
sentence means "I like greeting guest and never slight; stars would like to be my guests."
</code></pre>

<p>My answers are:</p>

<ol>
<li>OK. Is there a normal monosyllabic word to translate that liak into Mandarin? I was trying to fit the Mandarin to the tune, so cōngming (assuming it's fine) would be one syllable too long.</li>
<li>"perfect aspect", rather, but got it :). Note that the character has day radical, not mouth radical. That's a typo.</li>
<li>Uh-huh, maybe. Though the plural suffix in Hakka, for what I know, is usually 等 (see 涯等 ngai-ten on the reference - mind the different radical for 涯). However, my reference states 兜 (teu) is a plural suffix, and when combined with 这 it sounds ia-teu. So, since <strong>同…争两餐</strong> means <strong>to compete with … on the market</strong> (idiom - is it Mandarin or not? How do I render it in Mandarin), the phrase is "With these few [the stars and those in Malaysia] I compete on the market.</li>
<li>and 5. Where is the "would like to" in the Hakka text?</li>
</ol>

<p>So besides points 4-5, this has become a confirmation question, awaiting a speaker of Hakka to confirm the Cantonese-based suggestions of @Stan. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-20T18:16:40.373Z
(only know Cantonese but they are similar.) 1. Not exact. 叻 basically means doing well in something, not necessarily "clever". And it's awful to translate it as 敏 in Mandarin, because the single character 敏 sounds too archaic.  2. Correct. 哂 is similar to 了 (le). It marks the "perfect tense". 3. "同 佢丢 争两餐" here 佢丢 should mean *they* (like 佢地 in Cantonese). 4.5. "人客爱招呼冇态慢 明星或歌星日日来帮衬". Here, I don't clearly understand what 态慢 means but I catch it as "怠慢" in Mandarin. And 帮衬 means "be his guest". So this sentence means "I like greeting guest and never slight; stars would like to be my guests."
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-20T19:31:33.873Z
1. OK. Is there a normal monosyllabic word to translate that liak into Mandarin? I was trying to fit the Mandarin to the tune, so cōngming (assuming it's fine) would be one syllable too long. 2. "perfect aspect", rather, but got it :). 3. Uh-huh, maybe. Though the plural suffix in Hakka, for what I know, is usually 等 (see 涯等 ngai-ten on the reference - mind the different radical for 涯). What whould the phrase mean in the assumption 佢丟 = 佢地? 4.5. Where is the "would like to" in the Hakka text?
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-20T19:38:58.827Z
Note: 3. would probably require a prepositional meaning for thung, possibly like wèi in Mandarin, so "because of them, I [have to] fight for (= work hard to get) two meals". This doesn't fall too well in with the Cantonese usage of that word described [here](http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/215/), which is "on behalf of". Who would "they" be? That would seem to imply a distinction between all the celebs and the "ki cak nyin", which would be in a similar condition to the singer, and "for which" (or maybe "like which") he would fight for meals.
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-20T19:42:19.377Z
Also, 争 could mean "be short of" as in Cantonese according to CantoDict.
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-20T19:57:26.180Z
Btw, my guess on 哂 was probably based on a Cantonese finding. I can't find it now, but cfr [baidu baike](http://baike.baidu.com/view/23439.htm#3). This makes me suspect we have a typo, and the character is 晒, with day radical, not 哂, with mouth radical.
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-20T20:23:47.693Z
But _do_ compare my reference with 涯 _兜_, ngai-teu, same as ngai-ten. It seems to be a common plural suffix: we have (亻恩）兜 ＝ 我们（包括你）, 这兜＝这些，该兜＝那些，拿兜＝拿些，哪兜＝哪些，你兜＝你们，but unfortunately there seems to be no 佢兜＝他们。However, the reference appears to be lacking many words, or at least that is the impression I got by frequent use of it. So I guess your guess may in fact be right. Good thinking :).
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-20T20:40:56.170Z
The problem would then be the pronunciation of 佢 as "ya"-like. Maybe we can merge my idea with the plural suffix and say 同佢丢=同业兜＝同业们="my colleagues". What about that?
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-21T05:46:46.360Z
Wow. For 3, I guess `佢丟=佢地` just from the context (and also the similarity in pronunciation): the singer first lists some stars in Taiwan and all over the world, and then he says "看下大马有几只人 同佢丢争两餐" which means "let's see how many singers in Malaysia, can compete with **them佢丢** on the stage" -- **"同sb.争两餐" is a folk idiom which means "compete with sb. on the market (or any stage where can make money)"**. And though I don't know Hakka, I'm almost sure `同佢丢=同业兜＝同业们="my colleagues"` doesn't make sense in that sentence. Anyway, Let's wait for somebody who speaks Hakka to answer your question :)
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-21T05:48:24.357Z
And 晒=>哂 should be a typo.
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-21T08:31:27.420Z
I only thought this up after leaving my computer, but 这兜 (=这些) is ya-teu, which means yes, that does mean "they". So @Stan you guessed correctly there. I'll edit the question to sum up these comments once I get back home from Mass.
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-21T10:27:36.913Z
@Stan _do_ see the edit.
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-21T15:49:42.117Z
Let us [continue this discussion in chat](http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/17314/discussion-between-stan-and-mickg).
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-12T07:34:44.700Z
Oh, for the record, `ki-teu 佢兜` does indeed exist and mean "they". Just like nyi-teu = you (plural) and ngai-teu = we.
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-26T02:19:13.833Z
I want to reply on how you replied Stan. 1. No matter what, an adjective must be following by a 的, so it's not possible to translate that into a single character in Mandarin. The closes is 紅的 2. It's not **just** a perfect tense, xx哂 is equivalent to 全都xx了, meaning "all [past participle]".
Daniel Cheung
<translation><topolect><hakka>
Help translating 海南鸡饭 - 2
# Help translating 海南鸡饭 - 2

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-09-20)

I've come across Zhang Shaolin's [Hoi-nam kai-fan](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VyazYfmmaY) (characters 海南鸡饭, lyrics only in subtitles), a song in Hakka. It is split into three parts. This question concentrates on part 2, [part 1 being here](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/9646/help-translating-%E6%B5%B7%E5%8D%97%E9%B8%A1%E9%A5%AD) and [part 3 here](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/9652/help-translating-%E6%B5%B7%E5%8D%97%E9%B8%A1%E9%A5%AD-3). I have trouble translating it. The lyrics from the subs are:

```
海南鸡饭

＊台湾最近叻歌星数不完
张惠妹称霸哂歌坛
面对香港四大天王
还有新一斑
还有SPICE GIRL外国好鬼出名
BACKSTREET BOY只只讲晓弹
看下大马有几只人
同佢丢争两餐
自家歌声差人有限
去开一间海南鸡饭
人客爱招呼冇态慢
明星或歌星日日来帮衬

```

Listening to the video carefully and accurately representing the sounds I hear, and subsequently tweaking the spelling for a "standard" spelling, I got the following transliteration:

```
Hoi-nam kai-fan

Thoi-wan cui kun liap kuo-sing su put wan
Zhāng Huìmèi ching-pa-sai ko-than
Men-tui Heong-kong si thai then wong
Han yiu sin yit pan
Han yiu SPICE GIRL woi-kiet hau gui chut-miang
BACKSTREET BOY cak-cak kong hiau than
Khon ha Thai-ma yiu ki cak nyin
Thung-ngiap tiu cang lieung chan
Chr-ka ko-sang cha ngin yiu han
Hi hoi yit kan Hoi-nan kai-fan
Ngin-hak oi cau-fu mao thoi-man
Ming-sing wa ko-sing nyit-nyit lei pong-cha

```

This is a possible mandarin rendition:

```
海南鸡饭

＊台湾最近敏歌星数不完
张惠妹称霸了歌坛
面对香港四大天王
还有新一斑
还有SPICE GIRL外国好鬼出名
BACKSTREET BOY个个说会弹
看下大马有几只人
同业忙争两餐
自己歌声差人有限
去开一间海南鸡饭
客人爱招呼没态慢
明星或歌星日日来帮衬

```

Notes:

1. 涯 is actually meant to have a person radical rather than a water radical, but I can't input it on my computer so I used the closest match; it means "I" and is pronounced "ngai"; replaced with "wǒ";
2. 讲 is kong, Hakka standard for "say"; replaced with "shuō";
3. 唔 is m/ng, a standard Hakka negation; replaced with "bù" in many cases;
4. 只 can be used as a classifier; according to [my reference](http://hakka.dict.edu.tw/hakkadict/index.htm), it's cak when classifier and cii when "only"; doubled, it should mean "every", like doubled classifiers can in Mandarin; replaced with gègè, since I interpreted it as "everyone" = "every person";
5. 晓 is hiau; I have learnt this means "can", though this meaning is in my reference only under "晓得"; replaced with "néng";
6. 按 is an; [my reference](http://hakka.dict.edu.tw/hakkadict/index.htm) says 恁 (an) means "very"; replaced with "hěn";
7. 嘅 is ke; my reference spells that 个, distinguished from classifier 個, and says it means "de"; replaced accordingly;
8. 仔, cai, is a common noun suffix, like 子; after kè it should mean "kèrén"; replaced accordingly;
9. For 叻 (liap), I had to improvise; according to [MDBG](http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php?page=worddict&wdrst=0&wdqb=%E5%8F%BB), it means "smart, clever" in Cantonese; replaced with 敏;
10. 哂 is sai; I don't remember where, but I seem to have found some site saying a particle "sai" exists with meaning close to "le"; replaced accordingly;
11. 同佢 sounds like tung-ya; [my reference](http://hakka.dict.edu.tw/hakkadict/index.htm) says 同业 is pronounced thung-ngiab; replaced accordingly;
12. 丢 is tiu; according to [my reference](http://hakka.dict.edu.tw/hakkadict/index.htm), it means `來回奔忙`; replaced with 忙;
13. That rénkè is Hakka for kèrén, as [my reference](http://hakka.dict.edu.tw/hakkadict/index.htm) states; replaced accordingly;
14. 冇 is mau; the character means "not have", or anyway the opposite of "yǒu"; that would be 无, only it's pronounced mo according to my reference; replaced with "méi" anyway;
15. There are some [strange pronunciations](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/9653/strange-pronunciations-in-hakka-song): 张惠妹 is pronounced with Mandarin pronunciation (save for sh = s), 来 is sometimes pronounced lei instead of loi, 好 and 无 (actually 冇) are hau and mau, and the reference states they should be mo and ho, 两 is lioeng (compare Cantonese loeng).

With all that, my attempt would be:

```
Hainanese Chicken rice

＊Clever song stars from Taiwan lately are countless
Zhang Huimei has proclaimed himself leader of the stage
I see the Hong Kong Four Great Kings
And there's still the new lot:
There's still Spice Girl, very cunning, foreign and famous,
BACKSTREET BOY: everyone says he can play,
I look down and in Malaysia there are a few people;
My colleagues are always busy fighting for two meals.
Differently from people, my voice has limits.
So I go boil a Hainanese Chicken rice
Guests will say hello and are not so slow:    (oi = yào, and I supposed mau thoi man = bù tài màn)
They financially help stars and song stars every day.

```

As you can understand, the problems are many. I will make a few points.

1. Is that interpretation of liap right?
2. And what about the sai?
3. Is "thung-ngiab tiu co fan-pan" correctly translated?
4. The last two lines before the #, are they right?
5. Is the translation right from # to "cak-cak lei (loi) pong-cham"?

**Edit:**
@username_1's comment below reads thus:

```
(only know Cantonese but they are similar.)
1. Not exact. 叻 basically means doing well in something, not necessarily "clever".
And it's awful to translate it as 敏 in Mandarin, because the single character 敏 sounds too archaic.
2. Correct. 哂 is similar to 了 (le). It marks the "perfect tense".
3. "同 佢丢 争两餐" here 佢丢 should mean they (like 佢地 in Cantonese).
4.5. "人客爱招呼冇态慢 明星或歌星日日来帮衬". Here, I don't clearly understand what 态慢
means but I catch it as "怠慢" in Mandarin. And 帮衬 means "be his guest". So this
sentence means "I like greeting guest and never slight; stars would like to be my guests."

```

My answers are:

1. OK. Is there a normal monosyllabic word to translate that liak into Mandarin? I was trying to fit the Mandarin to the tune, so cōngming (assuming it's fine) would be one syllable too long.
2. "perfect aspect", rather, but got it :). Note that the character has day radical, not mouth radical. That's a typo.
3. Uh-huh, maybe. Though the plural suffix in Hakka, for what I know, is usually 等 (see 涯等 ngai-ten on the reference - mind the different radical for 涯). However, my reference states 兜 (teu) is a plural suffix, and when combined with 这 it sounds ia-teu. So, since **同…争两餐** means **to compete with … on the market** (idiom - is it Mandarin or not? How do I render it in Mandarin), the phrase is "With these few [the stars and those in Malaysia] I compete on the market.
4. and 5. Where is the "would like to" in the Hakka text?

So besides points 4-5, this has become a confirmation question, awaiting a speaker of Hakka to confirm the Cantonese-based suggestions of @username_1.

**Tags:** translation, topolect, hakka

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: (only know Cantonese but they are similar.) 1. Not exact. 叻 basically means doing well in something, not necessarily "clever". And it's awful to translate it as 敏 in Mandarin, because the single character 敏 sounds too archaic.  2. Correct. 哂 is similar to 了 (le). It marks the "perfect tense". 3. "同 佢丢 争两餐" here 佢丢 should mean *they* (like 佢地 in Cantonese). 4.5. "人客爱招呼冇态慢 明星或歌星日日来帮衬". Here, I don't clearly understand what 态慢 means but I catch it as "怠慢" in Mandarin. And 帮衬 means "be his guest". So this sentence means "I like greeting guest and never slight; stars would like to be my guests."  
> **username_0**: 1. OK. Is there a normal monosyllabic word to translate that liak into Mandarin? I was trying to fit the Mandarin to the tune, so cōngming (assuming it's fine) would be one syllable too long. 2. "perfect aspect", rather, but got it :). 3. Uh-huh, maybe. Though the plural suffix in Hakka, for what I know, is usually 等 (see 涯等 ngai-ten on the reference - mind the different radical for 涯). What whould the phrase mean in the assumption 佢丟 = 佢地? 4.5. Where is the "would like to" in the Hakka text?  
> **username_0**: Note: 3. would probably require a prepositional meaning for thung, possibly like wèi in Mandarin, so "because of them, I [have to] fight for (= work hard to get) two meals". This doesn't fall too well in with the Cantonese usage of that word described [here](http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/215/), which is "on behalf of". Who would "they" be? That would seem to imply a distinction between all the celebs and the "ki cak nyin", which would be in a similar condition to the singer, and "for which" (or maybe "like which") he would fight for meals.  
> **username_0**: Also, 争 could mean "be short of" as in Cantonese according to CantoDict.  
> **username_0**: Btw, my guess on 哂 was probably based on a Cantonese finding. I can't find it now, but cfr [baidu baike](http://baike.baidu.com/view/23439.htm#3). This makes me suspect we have a typo, and the character is 晒, with day radical, not 哂, with mouth radical.  
> **username_0**: But _do_ compare my reference with 涯 _兜_, ngai-teu, same as ngai-ten. It seems to be a common plural suffix: we have (亻恩）兜 ＝ 我们（包括你）, 这兜＝这些，该兜＝那些，拿兜＝拿些，哪兜＝哪些，你兜＝你们，but unfortunately there seems to be no 佢兜＝他们。However, the reference appears to be lacking many words, or at least that is the impression I got by frequent use of it. So I guess your guess may in fact be right. Good thinking :).  
> **username_0**: The problem would then be the pronunciation of 佢 as "ya"-like. Maybe we can merge my idea with the plural suffix and say 同佢丢=同业兜＝同业们="my colleagues". What about that?  
> **username_1**: Wow. For 3, I guess `佢丟=佢地` just from the context (and also the similarity in pronunciation): the singer first lists some stars in Taiwan and all over the world, and then he says "看下大马有几只人 同佢丢争两餐" which means "let's see how many singers in Malaysia, can compete with **them佢丢** on the stage" -- **"同sb.争两餐" is a folk idiom which means "compete with sb. on the market (or any stage where can make money)"**. And though I don't know Hakka, I'm almost sure `同佢丢=同业兜＝同业们="my colleagues"` doesn't make sense in that sentence. Anyway, Let's wait for somebody who speaks Hakka to answer your question :)  
> **username_1**: And 晒=>哂 should be a typo.  
> **username_0**: I only thought this up after leaving my computer, but 这兜 (=这些) is ya-teu, which means yes, that does mean "they". So @username_1 you guessed correctly there. I'll edit the question to sum up these comments once I get back home from Mass.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 _do_ see the edit.  
> **username_1**: Let us [continue this discussion in chat](http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/17314/discussion-between-username_1-and-username_0).  
> **username_0**: Oh, for the record, `ki-teu 佢兜` does indeed exist and mean "they". Just like nyi-teu = you (plural) and ngai-teu = we.  
> **username_2**: I want to reply on how you replied username_1. 1. No matter what, an adjective must be following by a 的, so it's not possible to translate that into a single character in Mandarin. The closes is 紅的 2. It's not **just** a perfect tense, xx哂 is equivalent to 全都xx了, meaning "all [past participle]".  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2015-08-08. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

I'm a Cantonese and I can read the lyrics, great.

There are mistakes in the song lyrics:

```
海南鸡饭

＊台湾最近叻歌星数不完
张惠妹称霸哂歌坛
面对香港四大天王
还有新一斑 <-- should be 班
还有SPICE GIRL外国好鬼出名
BACKSTREET BOY只只讲晓弹
看下大马有几只人
同佢丢争两餐
自家歌声差人有限
去开一间海南鸡饭
人客爱招呼冇态慢 <-- should be 怠慢?
明星或歌星日日来帮衬

```

Mandarin Translation:

```
海南鸡饭

台湾最近红的歌星数不完
张惠妹称霸了歌坛
面对香港四大天王
还有新一班
还有 SPICE GIRL 外国好有名
BACKSTREET BOY 每个人都說他們会弹
看下大马有几个人
和他们争两餐(not a proper saying in M​​andarin?)
自家歌声和人差有限
去开一间海南鸡饭
招呼客人无怠慢
明星或歌星天天来光临

```

English translation (not literal for every single character, just the meaning):

```
Hainan Chicken Bowl

There are uncountably many recent outstanding singers in Taiwan
A-Mei* dominated the music industry
To confront the 4 kings** in Hong Kong,
there are a group of new comers.
And there are the Spice Girls which are very famous abroad
Everyone say the Backstreet Boys can play instruments
We take a look at Malaysia, there are a few of them (singers)
We compete against them for daily meals
Local singers (and international singers) only has limited ability difference
We'll go open a Hainan Chicken Bowl (restaurant)
We'll serve the customers with no slacking
Celebrities and singers come every day.

* A famous female Taiwanese singer
** The so called "best" 4 male singers in Hong Kong

```

Anyway, the song is pretty weird, just my personal opinion.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: A couple questions: 1) What would ypu say to the answerer-commenter about the liak? 2) What is the function of the kui 鬼 in that phrase "hau kui chut-miang"? AFAIK chut-miang and yôumíng are mostly equivalent, so why is that 鬼 there?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 1. I'm not sure of liak, do you have the Chinese character for that? 2. We Cantonese also use the 鬼 in 好鬼xx, it simply means very damnable/smart (as adverb) xx. I'm not sure of the chutmiang and youming, I'm not Hakkah  
> **username_2**: @username_0 Also, if you could provide the Chinese characters, I might be able to explain, since I'm not Hakka, I can't read the pronunciation.  
> **username_0**: For 1), you should look at the answer below. Anyway 叻 liak. For 2), chut-miang is 出名. So "hau kui chut-miang" would mean "very damn chut-miang", i.e. "very damn famous"? OK.  
> **username_2**: 叻 is also used in Cantonese. It means "smart" just like you said, but it also means "awesome", "good" as in 厲害/棒. Here's a place to find the explanation: http://baike.baidu.com/view/80072.htm  
> **username_0**: For my own benefit, 厲害／棒＝厉害／棒=lìhai/bàng. I know the words, but don't recognize the character for bàng yet, and the other word I only recognized in simplified. Anyway my point is that the answer-comment below suggests that character might be "wrong", so I will wait for him to respond as to what the 靓 he suggests means. I asked on Hakka verse on fb about it. Listening to the song, I am not sure if he sings _liak_ or _liang_. What do you think?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 It wouldn't have been 靚 because that means "pretty", because the line also has "最近", recently. Using "beautiful" with "recently" just doesn't make sense https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VyazYfmmaY  
> **username_0**: But maybe _liang_ in Hakka means something different from pretty. That-why I'm waiting for the commenter-answerer or the users of Hakka verse to respond. I know _ciang_, spelt with that char, means pretty, but does _liang_ mean the same? I hope they answer...  
> **username_0**: Seems _liang_ means pretty in Hakka, so the comment/answer below is suggesting something that changes the meaning, and I prefer the original _liak_. But why does using "beautiful" and "recently" not make sense?  
> **username_0**: Also, could one not just go for `台湾最近红歌星数不完`, without `de`, to fit the first line into the tune in Mandarin?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 No, that's not possible, not even in Cantonese. Hakka must like there sentences simplified. But you can try `台湾近(兒)红的歌星数不完`, that's a bit far fetched though, but `近(兒)` can be made into one single syllable  
> **username_2**: @username_0 It didn't make sense because one does not change its appearance in short period of time (recently beautified?), but you can change your achievement, and getting a bunch of achievements are considered "wow" or `叻`  
> **username_0**: Regarding [this comment](http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/9651/help-translating-%e6%b5%b7%e5%8d%97%e9%b8%a1%e9%a5%ad-2/14587?noredirect=1#comment24441_14587), why is it not possible? *"their sentences", I guess. Regarding [this one](http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/9651/help-translating-%e6%b5%b7%e5%8d%97%e9%b8%a1%e9%a5%ad-2/14587?noredirect=1#comment24442_14587), ah OK.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 I'm not sure, but my ears didn't like that. Maybe it's 3 syllables in length and in habit we don't like doing that in Mandarin because it doesn't sound nice. And I've never heard `紅歌手` before. I guess that's another question. :/  
> **username_0**: Do you think I got things right [here](http://michelegorini.blogspot.com/2017/08/all-chinese-songs-i-have-met.html) about this song?  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2015-08-25. Score: 0

I don't have enough reputation to comment.

In Hakka i usually hear 靓 *liang*, first time seeing 叻 *liak*. Could use 靓 i guess

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: liang in the sense of...? Clever? Curious how I see that character in the fb group Hakka Verse, with sound ciang, meaning beautiful...  
> **username_0**: For example in "ciang moi cia-ko", "Beautiful women request permission to pass" (or less literally "Here come beauties"), ciang being your char, moi the one in Mandarin mèimei, cia being the character jié for "borrow", and ko the guò of guòqu. Sorry but I can't paste in comments from my mobile and no way I can type those chars.  
> **username_0**: 靚妹借過 | ciang moi cia-ko.  
> **username_0**: Interestingly, [the 台灣客家話常用詞辭典](http://hakka.dict.edu.tw) has no _liang_ reading for 靚. Nor does [Minhakka's 客英大辭典](http://minhakka.ling.sinica.edu.tw/bkg/bkg.php?gi_gian=eng).  
> **username_0**: And neither reports a meaning of _liang_ that could fit into the sentence.  
> **username_0**: And the admin of Hakka Verse on fb says _liang_ means beautiful. So it is not a synonym of _liak_. And _liak_ fits much better here.  

---

