Hong Kongers may be known for working hard, but they talk about money even harder. From the taxi uncle complaining about his 荷包 getting thinner to a Mong Kok auntie bragging about her son's 身家, money vocabulary is woven into daily Cantonese conversation in ways English never quite captures. Volume 123 covers 12 of the most-used Cantonese words for being rich, being broke, being stingy, being generous, and hustling for every last dollar.
If you've ever heard someone call themselves 孤寒 with a straight face, or watched a yum cha table argue over the bill using words that sound like water and mosquitos, this list is for you. Pair it with our earlier Vol. 122 workplace slang guide — because every money word in Cantonese eventually loops back to how you earned it.
The 12 Cantonese money words you'll hear every day in Hong Kong
1. 窮
kung4 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: Poor; broke; strapped for cash.
Explanation: The straight-ahead, formal word for "poor". Not slangy, not funny — just honest. Hong Kongers use it when they mean actually broke, not just complaining before payday. In diaspora households it also carries a quiet weight: parents who built up from 窮 rarely stop reminding you how far the family came.
2. 水
seoi2 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: Money, in slang form. Literally the character for "water".
Explanation: Possibly the most important slang swap in Hong Kong. Money "flows like water" — in and out — so cash became 水. You'll see it in compound after compound: 回水 (refund), 磅水 (hand over cash), 掠水 (rip someone off).
3. 蚊
man1 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: Dollar (as a counter). The character literally means "mosquito".
Explanation: No one really knows why the mosquito character became the Cantonese counter for dollars — some linguists point to older folk associations with the small, buzzing nuisance of coins. 一蚊 = one dollar, 十蚊 = ten dollars. The written form 文 (also man1) is more formal but far rarer in daily conversation.
4. 一嚿水
jat1 gau6 seoi2 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: One hundred dollars. Literally "one lump of water".
Explanation: A piece of HK$100 cash is a "lump" of water — a solid chunk of the flowing stuff. Related expressions scale up: 一盤水 (jat1 pun4 seoi2) is ten thousand, and 一條水 (jat1 tiu4 seoi2) is a thousand. These are all casual, used among friends and at markets but never in formal settings.
If you're already using 水 daily, you're basically Hong Kong-coded — treat yourself to our Hea heavyweight t-shirt, the laziest, most honest word on this list in cotton form.
5. 荷包
ho4 baau1 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: Wallet; by extension, your personal spending budget.
Explanation: Originally meant the embroidered pouches worn on belts in imperial China. In modern Hong Kong it covers both the physical wallet and the metaphorical health of your finances. "傷荷包" (soeng1 ho4 baau1) — "hurting the wallet" — is a top-tier complaint word.
6. 身家
san1 gaa1 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: Net worth; total personal fortune.
Explanation: Literally "body-family" — the sum of everything a person is worth. Hong Kong aunties use 身家 as a casual-but-pointed way to compare, size up, or gossip about anyone's financial standing. It's the word behind every "佢身家過億" ("he's worth over a hundred million") headline.
7. 揸兜
zaa1 dau1 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: Literally "holding a bowl" — begging, or being so broke you might as well be begging.
Explanation: The image is of a street beggar holding out a bowl for coins. Used informally among friends to joke about financial ruin ("I'm going to be 揸兜 by the end of the month"), but harsher in serious contexts. Can also mean unemployed, since no job = holding a bowl.
8. 孤寒
gu1 hon4 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: Stingy; miserly; penny-pinching to the point of embarrassment.
Explanation: Literally "lonely-cold" — the full idiom 孤寒財主 (gu1 hon4 coi4 zyu2) describes the archetypal Scrooge: a wealthy old man who refuses to spend a cent. Shortened to 孤寒, it's a daily-use adjective for anyone splitting the bill down to the dumpling. The teasing cousin of 慳.
9. 慳家
haan1 gaa1 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: Thrifty in a positive way; good at managing the household budget.
Explanation: The polite flipside of 孤寒. 慳 means "to save", and 慳家 is the Hong Kong compliment for someone who stretches every dollar wisely — mums, especially. Where 孤寒 says "cheap," 慳家 says "smart with money". The difference is intent: thrift for the family versus thrift for yourself.
Nothing captures the "I did my hours, now stop asking" money mood quite like our 準時收工 Clock Out On Time heavyweight tee — because every 揾食 story needs an end time.
10. 大花灑
daai6 faa1 saa2 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: A big spender; someone who spends money like water from a shower head.
Explanation: Literally "big shower-head" — the mental image is of money gushing out uncontrollably. Can be admiring ("he treats everyone, what a 大花灑") or disapproving ("you're such a 大花灑, no wonder you're broke"). The casual variant 大花筒 (daai6 faa1 tung2) uses "big bamboo tube" with the same meaning.
11. 揾食
wan2 sik6 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: To earn a living; literally "looking for food".
Explanation: One of the most Cantonese words on this entire list. Earning a living isn't a career — it's hunting for enough food to survive another day. The phrase 揾食艱難 ("earning a living is tough") is practically a Hong Kong proverb, muttered at the end of long shifts across the diaspora. If you're 揾食, you're doing what you have to.
12. 睇餸食飯
tai2 sung3 sik6 faan6 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: Cut your coat according to your cloth; live within your means. Literally "look at the dishes before eating the rice".
Explanation: A proverbial piece of Cantonese household wisdom — before you dig in, see how much food is on the table and portion accordingly. It's the Cantonese way of telling you not to overcommit, overspend, or outplay your current hand. Every Hong Kong parent has used this one on a child begging for a new phone.
Why so many Cantonese money words?
Hong Kong is a city where generations of refugees arrived with nothing, built fortunes in two decades, and lost them in one bad bet. Money moves fast, so money vocabulary has to keep up. That's why the same person can be 孤寒 at breakfast, a 大花灑 at dinner, and 揸兜 by Monday morning — and still find the exact right word for each state.
The real tell, though, is 揾食. No English equivalent — "making a living" — carries the hunger inside it. The hunger is the point. Hong Kongers made it to global diaspora cities with the clothes on their backs and the knowledge that food has to be found daily. Even today, that word is how a Vancouver dim sum chef and a Sydney accountant and a London Uber driver all describe the same thing. Pair this list with our Vol. 115 commute phrases guide and you'll have the full daily grind in Cantonese.
If "慳家" sounds a bit too much like your mum, our 是但 Whatever oversized tee is the attitude you want when the family group chat starts calculating next year's Chinese New Year red packet budget.
📖 Related Articles
👉 Shop the Cantonese Slang collection
Modern streetwear for the global Cantonese community.