What's "ㄍ一ㄥ" (ging)?

[rose~]

I heard this on a Taiwanese show recently:

他不是很 ㄍ一ㄥ (ging)!

I suppose it's Hokkien but could anyone tell me what it means please? Is ㄍ一ㄥ a good thing?

Thank you for the help.

[skylee]

Take a look -> http://www.english.com.tw/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=1696&forum=22

uptight確有你說的意思, 但ㄍ一ㄥ是閩南語, 意思是矜持著、硬撐著、緊繃著而不動作的意思. 此時內心承受著壓力, 卻仍硬著頭皮忍著不做, 引申為很拘束、彆扭著、甚至是害羞不安的狀態. 可以是動詞, 也可以是形容詞, 所以uptight只是ㄍ一ㄥ的其中一種翻譯.

此外, 人家送的禮物, 明明心裡喜歡, 卻又礙於自己面子繃著不肯立即收受, 這也是ㄍ一ㄥ(音gging).

Also -> http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/11569630.html

[semantic nuance]

If I guess all right, ㄍ一ㄥ may derive from Taiwanese 衣掛 (hanger). Cannot help but think of 'hang in there' now!

[Mugi]

What tone is ㄍ一ㄥ ?

[semantic nuance]

first tone.

Hope it helps!

[rose~]

Thanks. From Skylee's information, it seems that there are a few shades of meaning for the word. I understand that it means sort of uptight...and I love that it describes the feeling of when you would like to accept a present but you feel like you have to decline. I don't know why that would derive from a clothes hanger though

[semantic nuance]

The mandarin equivalent of ㄍ一ㄥ is 撐 as skylee quoted. The reason I guessed it's derived from hanger was because of the Taiwanese sound of 衣掛. Imagine you try to hang a piece of smaller clothes on a hanger that is not fit for it. You'll have to "stretch a bit with force" (用力撐開) to put it on. I referred to 'hang in there' because they're simliar in maintaining /persevering in some posture or attitude. I'm not good at explaining though. Hope you get what I'm driving at. The following is the pronunciation of 衣掛 in Taiwanese.

Hope it helps!

[duaaagiii]

ㄍㄧㄥ is typically 1st tone (high flat) in Mandarin and 7th tone (middle flat) in Taiwanese.