# Taiwanese misappropriating English words/letters/initials **URL:** \ **Category:** Learning Chinese\ **Created:** [January 10, 2007, 1:58pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001 "2007-01-10T13:58:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Huang\_Guang\_Chen](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/bb73d2/32.png) [@Huang\_Guang\_Chen](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Huang_Guang_Chen)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 12:10pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/21 "2007-12-21T12:10:31Z")
Prolly something to do with the strongly held Taiwanese belief that its better out than in. HG ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 12:21pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/22 "2007-12-21T12:21:55Z")
DM=direct mailing (fliers) OS=off stage (narration) CF=commercial film and, of course, NG=no good ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_PBH](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/mr_pbh/32/230938_2.png) [@Mr\_PBH](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Mr_PBH)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 12:27pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/23 "2007-12-21T12:27:45Z")
NEW OPEN!!! ---
**Author:** ![cranky\_laowai](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/fbc32d/32.png) [@cranky\_laowai](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/cranky_laowai)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 1:01pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/24 "2007-12-21T13:01:26Z")
> [@Mother Theresa](#): > > I hadn’t seen that use of vs., which is obviously wrong. I think it’s more of an “and” than a “with” – but either way it’s wrong. The most egregious use of “vs” I can recall is from about four years ago. Taiwan was celebrating its relations with countries in Central America. Part of this involved putting up banners on light poles along streets. The largest text on these read “Taiwan vs Central America.” ---
**Author:** ![Toasty](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@Toasty](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Toasty)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 1:05pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/25 "2007-12-21T13:05:30Z")
I thought this was going to be a discussion about OGS, OBS, SPP, LKK, PMP and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![Elegua](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/65b543/32.png) [@Elegua](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Elegua)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 3:33pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/26 "2007-12-21T15:33:16Z")
> [@Maoman](#): > > We’re all familiar with the misuse of vs. in Taiwan. Whereas versus means “against” or “in opposition to” in English, in Taiwan it means “with”. I’ve seen other examples of English words with special Taiwanese usage that I have no inkling of. PK for instance. What the hell does that mean. It usually shows up not in sentence form, but on TV news shows when one politician is being compared or contrasted or is in opposition with another politician. I’ve asked several Taiwanese what it means, and no one has a clue, which isn’t a surprise to me, but I’m curious. Does anyone know? Well, PK means something pretty nasty in Cantonese. PK = Pok Gai No Q ---
**Author:** ![tempogain](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/tempogain/32/264650_2.png) [@tempogain](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/tempogain)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 3:42pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/27 "2007-12-21T15:42:35Z")
[quote=“Incubus”] NG=no good[/quote] funny, always wondered about that one. ---
**Author:** ![Chris](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@Chris](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Chris)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 4:00pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/28 "2007-12-21T16:00:32Z")
“ex.” for “for example” (instead of e.g.) “morning call” in hotels (instead of “wake-up call”) 'r for Mr. (placed after the name) 's for Ms. (placed after the name) ---
**Author:** ![sjcma](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@sjcma](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/sjcma)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 9:44pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/29 "2007-12-21T21:44:16Z")
PK is a gamer term that stands for “Player Kill”. It’s been imported into Mandarin as meaning “to attack” or “to attack each other” and has now been expanded to mean “to challenge to a duel”. Don’t use this term with Cantonese speakers as Elegua pointed out. Otherwise, you may very well be PK’d. ---
**Author:** ![Bu\_Lai\_En](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@Bu\_Lai\_En](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Bu_Lai_En)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 11:46pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/30 "2007-12-21T23:46:55Z")
The use of ‘vs’ as with rather than versus, comes from the international DJ scene. DJs used to always billboard dance parties as this DJ vs that (overseas, not just here in Taiwan) and although the original idea might have been some tests of their skills against each other, it just became ‘with’. That moved to the Tawian DJ scene and then to the wider scene. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Dragonbones](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/dragonbones/32/1125_2.png) [@Dragonbones](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Dragonbones)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 6:54am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/31 "2007-12-22T06:54:03Z")
[quote=“Tempo Gain”][quote=“Incubus”] NG=no good[/quote] funny, always wondered about that one.[/quote] I’m under the impression that it’s from the film industry, and is said after a bad take. Is this right? ---
**Author:** ![Elegua](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/65b543/32.png) [@Elegua](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Elegua)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 11:50am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/32 "2007-12-22T11:50:33Z")
[quote=“Dragonbones”][quote=“Tempo Gain”][quote=“Incubus”] NG=no good[/quote] funny, always wondered about that one.[/quote] I’m under the impression that it’s from the film industry, and is said after a bad take. Is this right?[/quote] Not sure, but I’ve heard it a lot in Japan. ---
**Author:** ![beautifulspam](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/e56c9b/32.png) [@beautifulspam](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/beautifulspam)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 3:11pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/33 "2007-12-22T15:11:49Z")
> [@Maoman](#): > > We’re all familiar with the misuse of vs. in Taiwan. Whereas versus means “against” or “in opposition to” in English, in Taiwan it means “with”. Actually, this usage of vs is becoming common on youtube. [quote] I’ve seen other examples of English words with special Taiwanese usage that I have no inkling of. PK for instance. What the hell does that mean. It usually shows up not in sentence form, but on TV news shows when one politician is being compared or contrasted or is in opposition with another politician. I’ve asked several Taiwanese what it means, and no one has a clue, which isn’t a surprise to me, but I’m curious. Does anyone know?[/quote] Doesn’t it mean Player Kill? Edit…someone already mentioned that. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 7:27am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/34 "2007-12-23T07:27:03Z")
soho=small office home office 😒 ---
**Author:** ![Mawvellous](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mawvellous](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Mawvellous)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 10:57am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/35 "2007-12-23T10:57:45Z")
DIY to refer to self-service instead of home repairs done by oneself. Many coffee ships have “DIY areas” where you are supposed to return your tray. ---
**Author:** ![Bu\_Lai\_En](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@Bu\_Lai\_En](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Bu_Lai_En)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 11:47am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/36 "2007-12-23T11:47:55Z")
> [@](#): > > soho=small office home office Oh brother! Nothing Taiwanese about that. ---
**Author:** ![Dragonbones](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/dragonbones/32/1125_2.png) [@Dragonbones](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Dragonbones)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 12:09pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/37 "2007-12-23T12:09:48Z")
[quote=“Mawvellous”]DIY to refer to self-service instead of home repairs done by oneself. Many coffee ships have “DIY areas” where you are supposed to return your tray.[/quote] DIY to refer to _ahem_ self-service. ---
**Author:** ![Mawvellous](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mawvellous](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Mawvellous)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 2:56pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/38 "2007-12-23T14:56:15Z")
How about “Q” to mean chewy, where did that come from? And the incessant use of “high” , as in dajia high qilai! ---
**Author:** ![Joesox](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/joesox/32/88471_2.png) [@Joesox](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Joesox)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/39 "2007-12-23T15:01:45Z")
[quote=“Mawvellous”]How about “Q” to mean chewy, where did that come from?[/quote]I’m told that it sounds the same as a Taiwanese word that means “chewy”. ---
**Author:** ![beautifulspam](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/e56c9b/32.png) [@beautifulspam](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/beautifulspam)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001/40 "2007-12-23T17:25:47Z")
Or QQ…crybaby. Because the Qs look like two teared up eyes. This usage has now penetrated international gaming culture (or at least my WOW server), as in “Less QQ more pew pew” (Less crying more fighting). [Previous page](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001.md?page=1) [Next page](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/taiwanese-misappropriating-english-words-letters-initials/35001.md?page=3)