Don't do it or don't be so stupid?
In Chinese there is an old saying "若要人不知，除非己莫為".
Meaning "Don't do bad thing if you don't want to get caught".
However, in recent years, there is another saying in Cantonese "若要人不知，唔好太低B".
Meaning "Don't be stupid if you don't want to get caught"
This is a funny example of how Chinese evolved in Hong Kong. It looks like creator of the new saying was trying to play with rhyme, but the outcome does have another meaning that caught plenty Hong Kong people's heats. I do believe the new saying is referred and used more frequently in Hong Kong nowadays.
Sad thing is, the old saying is asking people to be good at heart and not doing bad things, while this evolved one is going the other direction.
So Hong Kong people getting more evil or they just don't care about decency anymore?
Culture is one of the finest gold we should possess and preserve to pass it generation to generation
That's why I created the 2 posts about Chinese (Cantonese), although most of the Steemians here may not understand Chinese.
It took me quite some time to select the topic and do the translations, it is not easy for me as I am from a engineering background.
I am still thinking if this kind of posts are welcomed here, should I keep creating posts like this.
Hope that more Steemians see the values of these posts.
Include an English translation to the post. when you write it in other language.... That will help you and the community....
I like Dayo Wong, it's my favourite star in Hong Kong. He is so humorous and I like his stand-up comedy show so much that I go every time when is on stage. And that's just so sad that he decided not to have another show soon in the recent years. By the way he is going to have another new TV series soon
thanks, after going to Taiwan for a while, I start to appreciate the wisdom of HK slang, there is just so many ways to express alot different situations.
The quote just showed the unique feature of Cantonese thats making the language interesting and vivid with rhymes!
There are lots lots more of these catchphrases made by Cantonese commanders which you can find in media like movies and tv programmes!
It is funny how the saying has changed. I agree though that the underlying motive for the new saying is pretty sad. Encouraging people to have good morals brings a positive change to society. Encouraging people to not get caught doing something negative will bring only negative consequences to society.
I don't think it's just a Hong Kong thing, i think this is happening in most cultures around the world.
Not good to hear similar culture shift is happening in other part of the world. 😥
Ha ha ha ha, it is very funny! Hong Kong TV program had a lot of funny words! Although their quality is getter worse and worse everyyear. It is very sad. The two saying you quote is already many many years ago. We seldom can see such good TV show in Hong Kong now.
You right, that's why I love Hong Kong TV program and Hong Kong movie has a wide market.
It is very funny
funny where did you get this
The 2 pictures are screen captures from TV programs in Hong Kong, which are frequently used in Hong Kong as replies or quotes in cyberspace.
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Haha that so funny! Chinese words have always been full of wisdom :) nice sharing and wait for more!