The Word 'TIU'

Perhaps one of the most interesting and colorful word in Cantonese today is the word "TIU" It is one magical word which just by the sound can describe pleasure, hate and love.

"TIU" falls into many grammatical categories. It can be used as a verb both transitive (eg. Goh tiu-ed Irene) and intransitive (eg. Irene was tiu-ed by Goh).

It can be a noun (eg. Goh doesn't give a tiu about Irene) or an adverb (Irene is tiu-ing beautiful). It should be obvious by now that there are not many words as versatile as the word "Tiu". Besides its sexual connotation, this lovely word can be used to describe many situations:

Fraud - Ngor pei yan tiu chor
Dismay - Tiu nia ma hai
Trouble - Yi chi tiu lor
Aggression - Tiu kow lei
Passive - Tiu ngor..??
Confusion - Tiu mat chat?
Difficulty - Tiu, ng chat meng ah...
Despair - Yi bai tiu lorr
Philosophical - Mm lan tiu hai lah..
Incompetence - Oh, tiu lo
Displeasure - Tiu, fart sang meh yeh si ah??
Laziness - Tiu lan tow hai...
Rebellion - Tiu chart hoi!
Direction - Ma chat tiu tei fong lei kah???

The mind really boggles at the many creative uses. How could anyone be offended when you say the word "TIU"? Use it in your daily speech - it adds to your PRESTIGE!

Tell someone today TIU - we meet again!