Cantonese money vocabulary is where the language really shows its personality. In Hong Kong, you don't just say something is expensive — it's gwai3 dou3 fei1 hei2, "so expensive it flies away." You don't just save money — you haan1 it, tightly, like an old Guangdong grandmother squeezing the last drop of oyster sauce out of the bottle. And when you're broke, you don't say "I'm broke" — you say you're holding an empty bowl.
This is Volume 72 of our Cantonese Dictionary series, and today we're covering 10 essential money and wealth words that every Hong Konger uses — from bargain-hunting at Sham Shui Po to complaining about rent in Wan Chai. If you want to wear the attitude before you master the words, our Cantonese slang tees put the phrases right on your chest.
The 10 Money Words
1. 慳錢
haan1 cin4 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: To save money; to be thrifty.
Explanation: 慳 (haan1) is a signature Cantonese word — Mandarin barely uses it. It means "to spare, to economise," and it's a compliment as often as a critique. A good Cantonese auntie is proud to haan1.
2. 大出血
daai6 ceot1 hyut3 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: Literally "big bleeding" — to spend a massive amount of money.
Explanation: Shops use it as a sales tactic ("we're bleeding money to give you this deal!"), and customers use it when their wallet takes a beating. Half advertisement, half self-pity.
3. 執到寶
zap1 dou3-2 bou2 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: To find a treasure — usually a bargain or an unexpectedly great deal.
Explanation: 執 means "to pick up." When you discover something great for cheap — a mint-condition vintage jacket at the Ap Liu Street market, a shop selling char siu at half price — you 執到寶.
4. 抵到爛
dai2 dou3 laan6 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: So worth it it's ridiculous.
Explanation: 抵 alone means "worth it, good value." 抵到爛 pushes it to "insanely good value." The bar in Cantonese for "抵" is genuinely high — a $38 lunch set with soup, rice, and a drink might qualify.
Big Spenders and Broke Days
Every Cantonese city runs on the tension between these two poles: the frugal auntie who saves every dollar and the flamboyant uncle who pays for the whole banquet. If either camp is your personality, our Hea heavyweight tee — the ultimate "can't be bothered" flex — is the philosophical opposite of both.
5. 貴到飛起
gwai3 dou3 fei1 hei2 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: So expensive the price is "flying away."
Explanation: Cantonese loves "到飛起" (dou3 fei1 hei2) as an intensifier — literally "to the point of flying up." You can attach it to almost anything: 靚到飛起 (so pretty), 攰到飛起 (so tired).
6. 荷包
ho4 baau1 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: Wallet, purse — sometimes used metaphorically for "your money."
Explanation: Originally a soft embroidered pouch tied to the waist in old Chinese dress. Modern Cantonese still uses it for wallet and figuratively for "your finances" — hurting your 荷包 means hurting your bank account.
7. 缺水
kyut3 seoi2 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: Literally "lacking water" — short on cash.
Explanation: In Cantonese slang, water = money. It's an old association, tied to the idea that water flows and so does cash. When your bank account is dry, you're 缺水.
8. 揸兜
zaa1 dau1 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: Literally "to hold a bowl" — to be broke, to beg.
Explanation: The image is of a beggar holding out an alms bowl. In modern usage it's an exaggeration for "I have no money at all." Students also use it to describe getting a U ("unclassified") grade — the letter U looks like a bowl.
9. 磅水
bong6 seoi2 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: To pay up; to hand over money.
Explanation: 磅 (bong6) means "to weigh" — the image is of weighing out coins on scales. It has a slightly gangster edge in Hong Kong films: the loan shark demanding "磅水!" when the debt comes due.
10. 老馮
lou5 fung4 — Jyutping romanisation
Meaning: To take something for granted — usually expecting it for free or as your due.
Explanation: A wordplay on 老奉 (lou5 fung6, "as if by imperial decree"). When someone assumes their friend will always pick up the bill, or their partner will always cook — that's them treating it as 老馮.
Why Money Talk Matters in Cantonese
Cantonese is unusually direct about money — a hangover from Guangdong's centuries as China's trading capital, where Portuguese silver, British opium tea and Hong Kong's own coinage all changed hands on the same wharfs. Talking about price is not rude; it's part of the social fabric. Ask any auntie how much her jacket cost and she'll tell you — and probably brag if she 執到寶.
If you grew up hearing your mum say 慳錢 twenty times a day, or heard your dad complain 貴到飛起 at every restaurant menu, our Mami Says collection is built around exactly those household phrases.
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