Indelible Hakka phrases

The only time I was warded in hospital for a major illness was in 2001. I had my womb removed for uterine fibroids that have grown to the size of an apple in my uterus. The evening after the operation, my husband brought the kids to visit me. In a feeble and almost inaudible whisper; I asked my girls, " Have you washed your hair?" Imagine the reaction...

During most of my childhood and young adulthood, my pa used to remind us, without fail every evening: "Have you bathe? Da Tonn Goon!" Da Tonn Goon literally means "Beat till the stick breaks" and it was used by pa to mean someone stubborn. The following are some unforgettable Hakka phrases that I grew up hearing:

Poi Tiok: A phrase uttered to express disgust. (Cheh! or Cis!)
Tai Fan Su: Literally " Big Sweet Potato" meaning a clumsy or useless person.
Bot tai larng or Bot larng gui: A 'sick' person suffering from extreme cold ; used to indicate disapproval of someone you dislike or loathe.
Ham Gah Can: A curse meaning demise of an entire family; (really evil, don't ever use this!)
Tziga Ngin: Our own people; use to indicate you are also a hakka. (Very useful phrase in a foreign land. You will get special treatment from your hakka counterparts--I got belacan Chilli when I was in a chinese restaurant in Finland because the proprietor was "Tziga Ngin")
Gan Du: Bedroom (only grandma's generation used that phrase)
Zao Tiu: the stove
Zao chu: the larder
Fa miao ma chut fa miao zai: A striped cat will produce striped kittens; same meaning as: " like father like son"; or the young offspring will always inherit the attitude and habits of the mother/father.
(To be continued...)