<p>Both 靜雞雞 and 靜靜雞 means 'quietly' and/or 'stealthily'</p>
<p>The minor difference are on the emphasis</p>
<blockquote>
<p>靜雞雞 emphasize on the 'stealthily' part</p>
<p>靜雞雞喺外面收埋個二奶 = &quot;quietly and stealthily hiding a mistress outside&quot; (<em>Since the main point is the secrecy, the 'stealthily' aspect is more prominent than the 'quietly' aspect</em>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>~</p>
<blockquote>
<p>靜靜雞 emphasize on the 'quietly' part</p>
<p>e.g. 靜靜雞企埋一邊 = &quot;quietly and stealthily step aside&quot; (<em>Since everyone can see you step aside, it is not very stealthily, therefore, the 'quietly' aspect is more prominent than the 'stealthily' aspect</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>~</p>
<blockquote>
<p>靜靜雞喺外面收埋個二奶 would emphasize on the 'keep quite' aspect</p>
<p>靜雞雞企埋一邊 would emphasize on the 'inconspicuous manner' aspect</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/27010/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">靜雞雞</a> is listed in the Cantonese dictionary CantoDict</p>
</li>
<li><p>靜靜雞 is not listed. It seems to be a variant of 靜雞雞 by popularity (<em>enough people say 靜靜雞  instead of 靜雞雞 made it a legit phrase</em>)</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Edit:</p>
<p>Base on some Cantonese coined unique reduplicated adjective, I think 靜雞雞 is the standard one</p>
<p>儍更更 (adj)</p>
<p>烏啄啄 (adj)</p>
<p>懵盛盛 (adj)</p>
<p>黑麻麻 (adj)</p>
<p>白雪雪 (adj)</p>
<p>The common form of reduplication that both Cantonese and Mandarin use:</p>
<p>靜 (adj) --&gt; 靜靜 (adj); 靜靜噉/ 靜靜地 (adv)</p>
<p>好 (adj) --&gt; 好好 (adj); 好好噉/ 好好地 (adv)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I believe 靜靜雞 came from mixing of 靜靜噉 and 靜雞雞</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-28T08:35:12.010Z
A few popular online explanations say something like "2 雞 makes too much noise, so saying 靜靜雞 makes more sense".
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-26T09:01:26.263Z
2018-09-28T10:55:01.193Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Tang Ho
<p>靜 means "quiet" and "雞" means "chicken". Put together as 靜雞雞 or 靜靜雞 the meaning is "quietly" or "steathily". What is the etymology of 靜雞雞 and 靜靜雞?</p>

<p>I've heard both 靜雞雞 and 靜靜雞. Are both correct? Is there any difference in meaning?</p>

<etymology><cantonese>
Etymology of phrases 靜雞雞 and 靜靜雞. Are both correct, and is there any difference in meaning?
# Etymology of phrases 靜雞雞 and 靜靜雞. Are both correct, and is there any difference in meaning?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-09-26)

靜 means "quiet" and "雞" means "chicken". Put together as 靜雞雞 or 靜靜雞 the meaning is "quietly" or "steathily". What is the etymology of 靜雞雞 and 靜靜雞?

I've heard both 靜雞雞 and 靜靜雞. Are both correct? Is there any difference in meaning?

**Tags:** etymology, cantonese


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-09-26. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

Both 靜雞雞 and 靜靜雞 means 'quietly' and/or 'stealthily'

The minor difference are on the emphasis

> 靜雞雞 emphasize on the 'stealthily' part
>
> 靜雞雞喺外面收埋個二奶 = "quietly and stealthily hiding a mistress outside" (*Since the main point is the secrecy, the 'stealthily' aspect is more prominent than the 'quietly' aspect*)

~

> 靜靜雞 emphasize on the 'quietly' part
>
> e.g. 靜靜雞企埋一邊 = "quietly and stealthily step aside" (*Since everyone can see you step aside, it is not very stealthily, therefore, the 'quietly' aspect is more prominent than the 'stealthily' aspect*

~

> 靜靜雞喺外面收埋個二奶 would emphasize on the 'keep quite' aspect
>
> 靜雞雞企埋一邊 would emphasize on the 'inconspicuous manner' aspect

* [靜雞雞](http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/27010/) is listed in the Cantonese dictionary CantoDict
* 靜靜雞 is not listed. It seems to be a variant of 靜雞雞 by popularity (*enough people say 靜靜雞 instead of 靜雞雞 made it a legit phrase*)

Edit:

Base on some Cantonese coined unique reduplicated adjective, I think 靜雞雞 is the standard one

儍更更 (adj)

烏啄啄 (adj)

懵盛盛 (adj)

黑麻麻 (adj)

白雪雪 (adj)

The common form of reduplication that both Cantonese and Mandarin use:

靜 (adj) --> 靜靜 (adj); 靜靜噉/ 靜靜地 (adv)

好 (adj) --> 好好 (adj); 好好噉/ 好好地 (adv)

> I believe 靜靜雞 came from mixing of 靜靜噉 and 靜雞雞

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: A few popular online explanations say something like "2 雞 makes too much noise, so saying 靜靜雞 makes more sense".  

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