<p>From Original to transliteration:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Motorola --&gt; 摩托羅拉 /mo1 tok3 lo4 laai1/</p>
</blockquote>
<p>From transliteration to <strong>sound-alike</strong> phrase:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>mo1 tok3 lo4 laai1 --&gt; 冇得攞啦 /mou5 dak1 lo2 laa1/</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li><p>冇得 = can't (as in <a href="https://cantoneseplus.com/word/18805" rel="nofollow noreferrer">冇得揮</a>)</p>
</li>
<li><p><a href="https://cantoneseplus.com/character/6298" rel="nofollow noreferrer">攞</a> = take</p>
</li>
<li><p><a href="https://cantoneseplus.com/character/1053" rel="nofollow noreferrer">啦</a> - final particle that emphasizes a current situation</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Similar example:</p>
<p>From original to translation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>荷蘭銀行支票 --&gt; Holland Bank check</p>
</blockquote>
<p>From translation to <strong>sound-alike</strong> phrase:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Holland Bank check --&gt; 好撚笨柒 /hou2 nan2 ban6 cat6/ (damn dumb prick)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Edit:</p>
<p>A more funny and closer sound-alike of 摩托羅拉 would be 冇得撈啦 /mou5 dak1 ou1 laa1/ (lost a job/ lost a way to earn a living)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-10T11:28:04.303Z
Is this a well-known *thing*, i.e.: the play on words of Cantonese Motorola?
Mou某
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-10T11:35:11.033Z
word plays are all unofficial slang. Only a few can make it to the dictionary, the Motorola one is not a commonly known word-play. I just heard it for the first time, but I can still easily match the twisted meaning to the sound-alike words.
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-10T11:37:03.750Z
Because Cantonese have so many Tones, it is possible to transliterate everything from every language and make it "sound" like something else, in most cases in a humorous or insulting way. Take a legitimate name "Michael See" In Cantonese it could be transliterated to sound like 賣雞屎, (maai6 gai1 si2), meaning "to sell chicken shit"
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-10T11:40:43.070Z
@Wayne Cheah  Michael See's  transliteration is closer to  賣尻屎 than 賣雞屎
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-10T11:46:05.990Z
I think 賣尻屎 is maai6 haau1 si2? My view is the "Ke" in Michael is closer to 雞? Anyway it still sounds funny either way as 尻 means "buttocks"
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-10T11:48:12.653Z
The most likely victims are the Chinese language itself, e.g. 李露媚 -->你鹵味 (你老母)
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-10T11:51:11.970Z
@Wayne Cheah Sorry, it should be 賣鳩屎 (sell dick shit)
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-10T11:25:58.600Z
2024-04-10T12:11:04.940Z
2024-04-10T12:11:04.940Z
Tang Ho
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zhenyi-Li-10/publication/34739420_Cultural_impact_on_international_branding_a_case_of_marketing_Finnish_mobile_Phones_in_China/links/0deec539681262661a000000/Cultural-impact-on-international-branding-a-case-of-marketing-Finnish-mobile-Phones-in-China.pdf?origin=publication_detail&amp;_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIiwicGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uRG93bmxvYWQiLCJwcmV2aW91c1BhZ2UiOiJwdWJsaWNhdGlvbiJ9fQ" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Li (2001)</a> claims that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Motorola, for example, is pronounced as “me de lou la” in Cantonese, which means “nothing to take”.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Not very good branding, if you're trying to sell phones.</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/21030/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CantoDict</a>, though, gives the jyutping of 摩托羅拉 as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>mo1 tok3 lo4 laai1</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Yale spelling would seem to be something like:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>mō tok lòh lāai</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While, Sidney Lau would be:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>moh1 tok3 loh4 laai1</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I'm struggling to match Li's written pronunciation with the &quot;<em>prestigious</em>&quot; &quot;<em>standard</em>&quot; Cantonese variant. Although, it could have very well originated from any topolectical flavor of Cantonese, albeit unspecified - but that would make it much harder for any layman to piece together.</p>
<hr />
<p>I would like his story to be true, as that would make for a quite humorous mishap.</p>
<p>Li has even been referenced multiple times repeating the same message. The book <em><a href="https://books.google.be/books?id=-Z-jAgAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA197&amp;lpg=PA197&amp;dq=Motorola%20cantonese%20pronunciation&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=TSGrK49f43&amp;sig=ACfU3U0ZyODsv8YZ-pFDAqHAwp0GD_z6qw&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiykNe1vLeFAxVX0wIHHZxVC90Q6AF6BAg3EAM#v=onepage&amp;q=Motorola%20cantonese%20pronunciation&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Economic Relations Between Asia and Europe: Organisation, Trade and Investment</a></em> quotes Li as saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Motorola is pronounced 'mi de lou la', which in Cantonese means 'nothing to take'.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here 摩 has now changed from &quot;me,&quot; in Li's paper, to &quot;mi.&quot;</p>
<hr />
<p>I can't seem to be able to add the pieces together to come to the same answer. How does Motorola sound like &quot;nothing to take&quot; in Cantonese?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-11T03:15:48.050Z
I want to add on a comparison of a similar thing that happened with car brand nova in spanish speaking places, as the brand name is very similar to "doesn't go".  they indeed did not do well there.
zagrycha
<cantonese>
How does Motorola sound like "nothing to take" in Cantonese?
# How does Motorola sound like "nothing to take" in Cantonese?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-04-10)

[Li (2001)](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zhenyi-Li-10/publication/34739420_Cultural_impact_on_international_branding_a_case_of_marketing_Finnish_mobile_Phones_in_China/links/0deec539681262661a000000/Cultural-impact-on-international-branding-a-case-of-marketing-Finnish-mobile-Phones-in-China.pdf?origin=publication_detail&_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIiwicGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uRG93bmxvYWQiLCJwcmV2aW91c1BhZ2UiOiJwdWJsaWNhdGlvbiJ9fQ) claims that:

> Motorola, for example, is pronounced as “me de lou la” in Cantonese, which means “nothing to take”.

Not very good branding, if you're trying to sell phones.

---

[CantoDict](https://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/21030/), though, gives the jyutping of 摩托羅拉 as:

> mo1 tok3 lo4 laai1

The Yale spelling would seem to be something like:

> mō tok lòh lāai

While, Sidney Lau would be:

> moh1 tok3 loh4 laai1

I'm struggling to match Li's written pronunciation with the "*prestigious*" "*standard*" Cantonese variant. Although, it could have very well originated from any topolectical flavor of Cantonese, albeit unspecified - but that would make it much harder for any layman to piece together.

---

I would like his story to be true, as that would make for a quite humorous mishap.

Li has even been referenced multiple times repeating the same message. The book *[The Economic Relations Between Asia and Europe: Organisation, Trade and Investment](https://books.google.be/books?id=-Z-jAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA197&lpg=PA197&dq=Motorola%20cantonese%20pronunciation&source=bl&ots=TSGrK49f43&sig=ACfU3U0ZyODsv8YZ-pFDAqHAwp0GD_z6qw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiykNe1vLeFAxVX0wIHHZxVC90Q6AF6BAg3EAM#v=onepage&q=Motorola%20cantonese%20pronunciation&f=false)* quotes Li as saying:

> Motorola is pronounced 'mi de lou la', which in Cantonese means 'nothing to take'.

Here 摩 has now changed from "me," in Li's paper, to "mi."

---

I can't seem to be able to add the pieces together to come to the same answer. How does Motorola sound like "nothing to take" in Cantonese?

**Tags:** cantonese

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I want to add on a comparison of a similar thing that happened with car brand nova in spanish speaking places, as the brand name is very similar to "doesn't go".  they indeed did not do well there.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2024-04-10. Score: 1

From Original to transliteration:

> Motorola --> 摩托羅拉 /mo1 tok3 lo4 laai1/

From transliteration to **sound-alike** phrase:

> mo1 tok3 lo4 laai1 --> 冇得攞啦 /mou5 dak1 lo2 laa1/

* 冇得 = can't (as in [冇得揮](https://cantoneseplus.com/word/18805))
* [攞](https://cantoneseplus.com/character/6298) = take
* [啦](https://cantoneseplus.com/character/1053) - final particle that emphasizes a current situation

Similar example:

From original to translation:

> 荷蘭銀行支票 --> Holland Bank check

From translation to **sound-alike** phrase:

> Holland Bank check --> 好撚笨柒 /hou2 nan2 ban6 cat6/ (damn dumb prick)

Edit:

A more funny and closer sound-alike of 摩托羅拉 would be 冇得撈啦 /mou5 dak1 ou1 laa1/ (lost a job/ lost a way to earn a living)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Is this a well-known *thing*, i.e.: the play on words of Cantonese Motorola?  
> **username_2**: word plays are all unofficial slang. Only a few can make it to the dictionary, the Motorola one is not a commonly known word-play. I just heard it for the first time, but I can still easily match the twisted meaning to the sound-alike words.  
> **username_3**: Because Cantonese have so many Tones, it is possible to transliterate everything from every language and make it "sound" like something else, in most cases in a humorous or insulting way. Take a legitimate name "Michael See" In Cantonese it could be transliterated to sound like 賣雞屎, (maai6 gai1 si2), meaning "to sell chicken shit"  
> **username_2**: @username_3  Michael See's  transliteration is closer to  賣尻屎 than 賣雞屎  
> **username_3**: I think 賣尻屎 is maai6 haau1 si2? My view is the "Ke" in Michael is closer to 雞? Anyway it still sounds funny either way as 尻 means "buttocks"  
> **username_2**: The most likely victims are the Chinese language itself, e.g. 李露媚 -->你鹵味 (你老母)  
> **username_2**: @username_3 Sorry, it should be 賣鳩屎 (sell dick shit)  

---

