Kao Cry 靠 Kào Common Exclamation Fujian Meaning

靠

kào

Damn! A common exclamation to express surprise or anger. 靠 Kào means “to depend upon” in Mandarin, but in the southern Fujianese dialect that the expression originates from (spoken in both Fujian and Taiwan) it’s actually 哭 kū (coo), meaning “to cry.” Kao bei, “cry over your father’s death,” kao bu, “cry over your mother’s death,” and kao yao, “cry from hunger,” are extremely common expressions (implying something like “What’s wrong with you? Did your mother/father just die?” or “Are you dying of starvation?”) and are nasty ways, in this dialect, to tell someone to shut up. However, in its popularization beyond Fujian and Taiwan the meaning has changed to an exclamation equivalent to “Damn!”