zoeng3 jau4醬油酱油
Jyutpingzoeng3 jau4
Yalejeung yàuh
Definition
Data source; a pun based on the homophones "source" and "sauce" in British English.
slangcommunicationslang
How it's used
This is a playful piece of internet slang that relies on the phonetic similarity between the English word source and the Cantonese word for soy sauce. It is almost exclusively used in online forums or informal text-based communication to ask for a link or reference. Using it in a professional or academic setting would be considered highly inappropriate or confusing.
Examples
Where did you get the source for this news?
Have you found the source for that report yet?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not use this in actual cooking contexts, as native speakers will assume you are making a joke about information sources rather than asking for a condiment. If you actually need soy sauce, use 豉油 instead.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
