# Amy Wong's curse words: real? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 1, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564 "2009-09-01T23:12:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/1 "2009-09-01T23:12:04Z")
I just caught _Into The Wild Green Yonder_ on broadcast television (most of it anyway; I’m not finding these _Futurama_ movies all that watchable). I heard Leo Wong, Amy’s dad, using the same set of Chinese curse words that Amy has used in the past. It sounds like “DAH SAH naaaaay . . .” 1. Is this real Chinese cursing? 2. If so, what does it mean? I like the way it sounds. I might put it on my curse word list. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/2 "2009-09-01T23:24:03Z")
It’s Cantonese. Means roughly “hope you get beaten up” , or “wish you were dead”, or really both. Doesn’t quite have the sting once translated into English. ---
**Author:** ![Neverender](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/848f3c/32.png) [@Neverender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverender)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/3 "2009-09-02T00:40:14Z")
I had it explained to me by a Chinese friend in 6th form that it translates literally to something like ‘go trip over and die’, but basically paraphrases something like ‘get fucked’. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/4 "2009-09-02T01:12:20Z")
I was just listening to the DVD commentary today and they said that whenever the script calls for Amy to curse, Lauren Tom says something in Cantonese (I believe the same phrase was used in the series, too). And for this one, she taught the phrase to Billy West, who voices Leo Wong. –Cliffy P.S. I found the other Futurama movies of uneven quality, but I thought this one was hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/5 "2009-09-02T01:36:27Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I just caught _Into The Wild Green Yonder_ on broadcast television (most of it anyway; I’m not finding these _Futurama_ movies all that watchable)… Yeah, the problem is that in each “movie” had to be written is such a way that it could be edited into 4 distinct episodes. ---
**Author:** ![grenadine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grenadine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grenadine)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/6 "2012-01-24T00:44:47Z")
you’re idiots. it means **SLAP YOU TO DEATH** ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/7 "2012-01-24T00:50:30Z")
> [@grenadine](#): > > you’re idiots. it means > **SLAP YOU TO DEATH** Typing that in big red type means that you aren’t an idiot, right? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/8 "2012-01-24T00:51:35Z")
How did I know what **grenadine** ’s join date would be before I looked? ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/9 "2012-01-24T01:04:30Z")
wow I didn’t know we could type big and in colors. this is really gonna expand my posting style ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/10 "2012-01-24T01:23:12Z")
> [@Neverender](#): > > I had it explained to me by a Chinese friend in 6th form that it translates literally to something like ‘go trip over and die’, but basically paraphrases something like ‘get fucked’. To save you from idiocy ;), ‘fall down’ is a different phrase, 仆街, pronounced _pok gai_. It literally means “fall [in the] street”, originally meaning you will rot where you die - but the implication is indeed ‘go trip over and die’ - and its sense when used as a verb is ‘fuck off’ and as a noun is ‘you arsehole’. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/11 "2012-01-24T01:27:13Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > … It sounds like “DAH SAH naaaaay . . .” … i’ve not seen the shows but from this it sounds like “beat you to death”. > [@Neverender](#): > > I had it explained to me by a Chinese friend in 6th form that it translates literally to something like ‘go trip over and die’, but basically paraphrases something like ‘get fucked’. this refers to “pok gai”, and it is vulgar. i must add that most Chinese i hear on American TV sounds horribly garbled, even by those who looks Chinese. it is terribly embarrassing. eta: sey pok gai, bei gor guai lou qiong xin! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/12 "2012-01-24T01:31:46Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > i must add that most Chinese i hear on American TV sounds horribly garbled, even by those who looks Chinese. it is terribly embarrassing. And British TV too. In episode 2 of the new BBC Sherlock Holmes the Chinese people were supposedly from Dalian, but were speaking Cantonese to each other. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/13 "2012-01-24T01:40:50Z")
As an aside, one of the Teletubbies is from Hong Kong. And thus some of the Teletubbies nonsense babble is actually Cantonese. For example, you’ll hear the Teletubbie slowly count in drawn out Cantonese yao, yi, sam, sei. It’s a little bizarre when you catch it. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/14 "2012-01-24T01:44:51Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > yao, yi, sam, sei Minor nitpick: _yat_, yi etc. I did not know that - will look out for it. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/15 "2012-01-24T01:49:08Z")
Amusing aside: the same “dah” in Amy’s insult is used in the phrase _dah fei gei_. Word-for-word this means “hit flying machine”, its implication being “beating the airplane”. And its sense is “choking the chicken”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/16 "2012-01-24T13:23:22Z")
> [@grenadine](#): > > you’re idiots. You’re not allowed to insult other users in this forum. Don’t do it again. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/17 "2012-01-24T15:41:04Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Amusing aside: the same “dah” in Amy’s insult is used in the phrase _dah fei gei_. Word-for-word this means “hit flying machine”, its implication being “beating the airplane”. And its sense is “choking the chicken”. 😃 a stretch. my guess is that this “dah” means “big” ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/18 "2012-01-24T15:48:47Z")
big is “dai”, **jjimm** is correct. ---
**Author:** ![kombatminipig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5ac83/32.png) [@kombatminipig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kombatminipig)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/19 "2012-01-24T15:54:56Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > wow I didn’t know we could type big and in colors. this is really gonna expand my posting style Indeed, far too few posts are written in purple. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564/20 "2012-01-24T20:20:51Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Minor nitpick: _yat_, yi etc. I did not know that - will look out for it. Thanks. My canto, while never good, is really slipping now that I don’t go to honky town every month or two any more. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-wongs-curse-words-real/508564.md?page=2)