无用姿娘勤三顿

There is a popular saying in Teochew Chenghai:’无用姿娘勤三顿’,which is used to mock those who are lazy by nature but cheat and cover up their faults.

‘无用姿娘勤三顿’,the literal meaning is that an incompetent woman only pretends to work hard when it is time to eat.’无用’means useless,in this sayingit refers more to a person who is lazy and gluttonous.’姿娘’means female in Teochew. ‘勤’means work hard.’三顿’means meal time.

Practice speaking this sentence in Teochew dialect:

A man married a lazy women

In the past, there was a young man in a village near Teochew. He was hardworking and simple, but he married a lazy woman.

The young man went out early and came back late to earn money to support his livelihood, while his wife wandered around at home and did nothing.

The neighbors criticized her, saying that the woman was young but did not take the initiative to do some needlework and spin some yarn to help the family. The young man thought it made sense and told his wife.

The ‘Hard-working’ wife

The young wife brought a spinning wheel from her parents’ home. Every day, she would sit in front of the spinning machine and spin yarn when her husband was about to come back.

When the husband came back, he was very happy to see his wife busy spinning. He went to the kitchen to cook despite being tired.

He also repeatedly told his wife: Don’t get tired, take more rest. When the husband went out, the wife immediately ran back to her room to sleep.

Finally one day, the wife’s secret was known by the aunt next door. Because every time it was almost time for dinner, the spinning machine in this house would start to sound. But when the husband went out, it would be silent. The aunt told the villagers about this secret, and the villagers laughed a lot.

Death from gluttony

Later, his wife died of overeating. The young man wanted to hold a funeral for his wife, but there was no money left at home. He remembered that his wife had never sold the yarn she spun, so he wanted to sell it.

But he searched the whole house and couldn’t find a single ball of yarn. The lady next door came over and told the truth. The young man was very angry, so he took apart the ball of yarn hanging on the spinning machine and wrapped his wife’s body.

He cursed, “无用姿娘勤三顿!” and buried her hastily on a mat.