How to Say ‘Damn! / Complaining (Taiwanese slang)’ in Traditional Chinese
靠北
kào běi
[kào běi]
💬 Usage Tip: This comes from Taiwanese Hokkien, where it means "to cry for one's father" (kháu-pē). So it means whining as well as 'damn!'.
🇹🇼 In Taiwan: It's very Taiwanese and fairly crude, common among young people. A milder cousin is 靠北邊走.
Phrase Breakdown
靠
kào
[kào]
(vulgar) to whine; cry
From Taiwanese 'khàu', to cry/wail; written with 靠 as a sound loan in the curse 靠北.
靠北，好痛！
Damn, that hurts!
北
běi
[běi]
father (Taiwanese sound loan)
Represents Taiwanese 'pē' (dad); 靠北 literally means 'crying for your dead father', a common curse.
他一直靠北老闆。
He keeps bitching about the boss.
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