搞掂

[Ian_Lee]

How should the Cantonese term 搞掂 be translated into Mandarin or English?

I don't know what its equivalence in Mandarin. In English, the term literally means "fix it". And it can apply to object as well as human.

For instance, if your boss scolds you, and afterwards you tell your co-worker that it has been 搞掂, that means the boss' anger is quelled.

However, if you flaunt that you have 搞掂 that girl, it probably means that she has become your girl friend.

Of course, if you got a flat tire and you do the dirty job by yourself, it is also 搞掂.

In fact, 搞掂 is one of the most frequent terms used in Cantonese daily conversation.

[Quest]

It has been ported into Mandarin as 搞定。

In English you just say "job done".

[Claw]

搞掂 doesn't necessary mean to fix it. More generally it means to get something done. For instance you can use it to say you have completed your homework: 我啲功課搞掂晒嚹.

I've heard that Mandarin has taken 搞掂 and turned it into 搞定. Other than that, maybe 做完 is the closest thing, though the connotation is a bit different. I think 搞掂 implies that the task was something that needed to be done or something that was urgent.

[roddy]

I was just about to ask if this was similar to the mandarin gaoding (not sure of the characters, only ever heard it spoken). I’m not too sure of it’s usage, but it strikes me as similar to the informal (British?) English ‘sorted’ – if something is ‘sorted’ then it has been dealt with, no need to worry about it. I think you’d usually use it (sorted, not gaoding) for something unusual, or that might have been a problem, not a routine everyday task. Does this sound about right for gaoding?

[Ian_Lee]

But does 搞定 (gaoding) in Mandarin have the same dirty connotation as 搞掂 in Cantonese?

I wonder.

For example, if a girl speaks loudly in a restaurant in HK or Guangzhou that she has 搞掂男人, I bet hundreds of eyes will turn towards her.

And if you tell your friend that last night you were 搞掂 by your girl friend, that implies she was in charge on the bed and you had orgasm first before she has.

搞掂 in Cantonese means more than merely "sorted" or "job done".

[xiaomawang]

They have the same meaning in that specific scenerio.

[studentyoung]

For example, if a girl speaks loudly in a restaurant in HK or Guangzhou that she has 搞掂男人, I bet hundreds of eyes will turn towards her.

And if you tell your friend that last night you were 搞掂 by your girl friend, that implies she was in charge on the bed and you had orgasm first before she has.

搞掂 in Cantonese means more than merely "sorted" or "job done

I think sometimes in some special situations "搞掂" does have some special meaning. (I am a Cantonese girl living in Guangzhou.)

If a girl says that she can "搞掂男人", that means the girl can play some redoubtable and shrewed tricks to make men to submit to or take order from her. In this case, people must consider the girl as a play girl.

If a man says he can "搞掂老婆", that means he can satisfy his wife with substance or sex. If his wife is "搞掂" by another man, that means his wife is adulterate.

[Quest]

欢迎所有广州嘅朋友。

[Ian_Lee]

If a man says he can "搞掂老婆", that means he can satisfy his wife with substance or sex.

I guess the substance you refer to is money or jewelry.

"Substance" also means drugs like heroin or "ice" in US.