七月半鴨仔——毋知死活

Chinese

		Ghost Festival	duckling; duck		to act recklessly; to do something regardless of danger
trad. (七月半鴨仔——毋知死活)		七月半	鴨仔	——	毋知死活
simp. (七月半鸭仔——毋知死活)		七月半	鸭仔	——	毋知死活
Literally: “ducks on Ghost Festival - don't know whether they can live”.

Etymology

According to customs in Southern China, chicken is used as sacrifice for gods, while ducks are used as sacrifice for ghosts. Therefore, ducks are likely to be slaughtered at the Ghost Festival.

Pronunciation

• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): chhit-ge̍h-pòaⁿ ah-á, m̄-chai sí-oa̍h / chhit-goe̍h-pòaⁿ ah-á, m̄-chai sí-oa̍h / chhit-ge̍rh-pòaⁿ ah-á, m̌-chai sí-oa̍h

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• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Taipei)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhit-ge̍h-pòaⁿ ah-á, m̄-chai sí-oa̍h
    • Tâi-lô: tshit-ge̍h-puànn ah-á, m̄-tsai sí-ua̍h
    • IPA (Taipei): /t͡sʰit̚³²⁻⁴ ɡe(ʔ)⁴⁻¹¹ puã¹¹ a(ʔ)³²⁻⁴⁴ a⁵³ m̩³³⁻¹¹ t͡sai⁴⁴⁻³³ si⁵³⁻⁴⁴ uaʔ⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sʰit̚³²⁻⁴ ɡe(ʔ)⁴⁻²¹ puã²¹ a(ʔ)³²⁻⁵³ a⁵³ m̩²²⁻²¹ t͡sai⁴⁴⁻²² si⁵³⁻⁴⁴ uaʔ⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhit-goe̍h-pòaⁿ ah-á, m̄-chai sí-oa̍h
    • Tâi-lô: tshit-gue̍h-puànn ah-á, m̄-tsai sí-ua̍h
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰit̚³²⁻⁴ ɡue(ʔ)⁴⁻²¹ puã²¹ a(ʔ)³²⁻⁴⁴ a⁴¹ m̩³³⁻²¹ t͡sai⁴⁴⁻³³ si⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ uaʔ⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sʰit̚³²⁻⁵ ɡue(ʔ)¹²¹⁻²¹ puã²¹ a(ʔ)³²⁻⁴⁴ a⁵³ m̩²²⁻²¹ t͡sai⁴⁴⁻²² si⁵³⁻⁴⁴ uaʔ¹²¹/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhit-ge̍rh-pòaⁿ ah-á, m̌-chai sí-oa̍h
    • Tâi-lô: tshit-ge̍rh-puànn ah-á, m̌-tsai sí-ua̍h
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sʰit̚⁵⁻²⁴ ɡə(ʔ)²⁴⁻² puã⁴¹ a(ʔ)⁵ a⁵⁵⁴ m̩²² t͡sai³³ si⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ uaʔ²⁴/

Idiom

七月半鴨仔——毋知死活

1. (Hokkien) to act recklessly; to do something regardless of danger

Synonyms

• 七月半鴨仔——毋知死／七月半鸭仔——毋知死
• (Teochew) 七月半鴨——唔知死活／七月半鸭——唔知死活