high tech揩嘢，low tech撈嘢

Chinese

		high-tech	to get into trouble		low-tech	to earn; to gain	(Cantonese) thing
trad. (high tech揩嘢，low tech撈嘢)		high tech	揩嘢	，	low tech	撈	嘢
simp. (high tech揩嘢，low tech捞嘢)		high tech	揩嘢	，	low tech	捞	嘢

Etymology

Pun on homophonous pairs high vs 揩 (haai1) and low vs 撈／捞 (lou1).

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): haai¹ tek¹ haai¹ je⁵, lou¹ tek¹ lou¹ je⁵

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• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: haai¹ tek¹ haai¹ je⁵, lou¹ tek¹ lou¹ je⁵
    • Yale: hāai tēk hāai yéh, lōu tēk lōu yéh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: haai¹ tek⁷ haai¹ je⁵, lou¹ tek⁷ lou¹ je⁵
    • Guangdong Romanization: hai¹ tég¹ hai¹ yé⁵, lou¹ tég¹ lou¹ yé⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /haːi̯⁵⁵ tʰɛːk̚⁵ haːi̯⁵⁵ jɛː¹³ lou̯⁵⁵ tʰɛːk̚⁵ lou̯⁵⁵ jɛː¹³/

Proverb

high tech揩嘢，low tech撈嘢

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) high-tech makes one get into troubles, low-tech makes one earn a lot