This article is about the Hong Kong English expression. For the Chinese expression, see Jiayou (cheer).
Hong Kong English expression
Add oil
The English expression used as a wordplay by a petrol station in Hong Kong, loosely translated as "redeem for rice and add fuel, add oil to you"
Chinese
加油
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
jiā yóu
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization
gāyáu
Jyutping
gaa1 jau2
"Add oil" is a Hong Kong English expression used as an encouragement and support to a person.[1] Derived from the Chinese phrase Gayau (or Jiayou; Chinese: 加油), the expression is literally translated from the Cantonese phrase. It is originated in Hong Kong and is commonly used by bilingual Hong Kong speakers.[2]
"Add oil" can be roughly translated as "Go for it".[1] Though it is often described as "the hardest to translate well",[3] the literal translation is the result of Chinglish and was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2018.[4]
^ ab"This powerful Hong Kong English phrase is now in the Oxford Dictionary". Inkstone. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
^"Add oil! The evolution of Hong Kong English, and where our unique words come from". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
^Lee, Jennifer 8. (13 August 2008). "Lost in Translation: A Chinese Cheer". Rings Blog. Retrieved 2018-10-16.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^"The Chinglish phrase 'add oil' now has an entry in the Oxford English Dictionary". shanghaiist. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
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