Hokkien
/həʊˈkiːn
/noun
1 [mass noun] A dialect of southern Min Chinese that is also spoken in Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and the Philippines.Lin touted Malaysia as an ideal place for Taiwanese investors because that Malaysian workers can speak fluent English and various Chinese dialects such as Hokkien....
- A number of Chinese dialects are also widely spoken including Cantonese, Hokkien, and Mandarin together with Punjabi and Tamil.
- A child who speaks Hokkien at home may be schooled in Mandarin Chinese at school.
2 (plural same or Hokkiens) A member of a people traditionally inhabiting south-eastern China.Moreover, Hualien's four major ethnic groups - Hokkien, Hakka, Aboriginals and mainland Chinese - do not reflect the true population distribution elsewhere Taiwan....
- He said the coalition avoided talking about the conflict between the Mainlanders and the Hokkien and promoted a concept of ethnic equality without real content.
- Similarly, you will often find Malaysians and Singaporeans using English words as if they were actually Hokkien or Cantonese (or Malay, or Tamil and so on).
adjective
Relating to the Hokkien or their dialect.Written with a mix of phonetic Hokkien dialect and English, Shiga creates a fascinating and little-seen world....
- In a bid to preserve the Hokkien language, educators yesterday urged the Ministry of Education to tightly regulate Hokkien textbooks for elementary and junior high schools.
- Goa-seng-lang pronounced in Hokkien means ‘people from outside the province.’
Origin
Hokkien hok kian.