一講曹操，曹操就到

Chinese

		one; single; a one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)	to talk; speech; to speak to talk; speech; to speak; to tell; to explain	Cao Cao		Cao Cao	at once; then; right away at once; then; right away; only; (emphasis); to approach; to move towards; to undertake	to (a place); until (a time); up to to (a place); until (a time); up to; to go; to arrive
trad. (一講曹操，曹操就到)		一	講	曹操	，	曹操	就	到
simp. (一讲曹操，曹操就到)		一	讲	曹操	，	曹操	就	到
Literally: “speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives”.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jat¹ gong² cou⁴ cou¹, cou⁴ cou¹ zau⁶ dou³

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• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: jat¹ gong² cou⁴ cou¹, cou⁴ cou¹ zau⁶ dou³
    • Yale: yāt góng chòuh chōu, chòuh chōu jauh dou
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jat⁷ gong² tsou⁴ tsou¹, tsou⁴ tsou¹ dzau⁶ dou³
    • Guangdong Romanization: yed¹ gong² cou⁴ cou¹, cou⁴ cou¹ zeo⁶ dou³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɐt̚⁵ kɔːŋ³⁵ t͡sʰou̯²¹ t͡sʰou̯⁵⁵ t͡sʰou̯²¹ t͡sʰou̯⁵⁵ t͡sɐu̯²² tou̯³³/

Proverb

一講曹操，曹操就到

1. (Cantonese) speak of the devil and he shall appear

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 說曹操，曹操到 (“Speak of the devil and he shall appear.”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		說曹操，曹操到, 說曹操，曹操就到, 說到曹操，曹操就到
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	說曹操，曹操就到
	Singapore	說曹操，曹操到
Cantonese	Hong Kong	一講曹操，曹操就到, 日頭唔好講人，夜晚唔好講鬼
	Singapore (Guangfu)	講到曹操，曹操到
Southern Min	Xiamen	講儂儂遘，講鬼鬼遘
	Quanzhou	講儂儂遘，講鬼鬼遘
	Zhangzhou	講儂儂遘，講鬼鬼遘
Puxian Min	Putian	日咧伓通講儂，暝咧伓通講鬼