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Taken at a restaurant in Hangzhou:

The big Chinese characters say:

Cant. gai1zai2 beng2  MSM  jīzǎi bǐng

鸡仔饼

"phoenix cookie"

This is a type of chewy biscuit made with lard, originating in Guangzhou / Canton.  (source)  Its original name was Cant. siu2fung6 beng2  MSM xiǎofèng bǐng 小鳳餅 ("little phoenix cake").

Here are some recipes for "phoenix cookies".  I noticed plenty of fat and sesame, peanuts, walnuts, etc., but no chicken.

In Cantonese gai1zai2 mui4jan4*2 雞仔媒人 means "busybody", where mui4jan4*2 媒人 by itself would ordinarily mean "matchmaker".

(source)

Cf. niúzǎikù / niúzǐkù 牛仔褲 / Cant. ngau4zai2 fu3 / Hakka ngiù-chṳ́-fu / Minnan [Hoklo / Taiwanese]  gû-á-khò͘ / Wu [Shanghainese] 3nyieu-tse-khu ("jeans; denims; dungarees", lit. "cowboy pants").  (source)

Because the Cant. zai2 / Taishan doi2 /  Hakka zai3 / Minbei ciě 仔 suffix is so essential for grasping the nuances of words containing this morpheme, it will be useful to look at the extensive list of definitions with example sentences in Wiktionary:

1. (Cantonese, dialectal Hakka, Shehua) son (Classifier: 個／个 c; 粒 c)

   你個仔真係好乖。[Cantonese, trad.]
   
   你个仔真系好乖。[Cantonese, simp.]

   nei⁵ go³ zai² zan¹ hai⁶ hou² gwaai¹. [Jyutping]

   Your son is very well-behaved.

2. (Cantonese) child

   生仔 [Cantonese]  ―  saang¹ zai² [Jyutping]  ―  to give birth (to a child)

3. (Cantonese, slang) boyfriend (Classifier: 條／条 c)

   你條仔嚟咗。／你条仔嚟咗。 [Cantonese]  ―  nei⁵ tiu⁴ zai² lai⁴ zo². [Jyutping]  ―  Your boyfriend came.

4. (Cantonese, slang) (young) male (Classifier: 條／条 c; 隻／只 c)

   我係仔嚟㗎喎。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   
   我系仔嚟㗎㖞。[Cantonese, simp.]

   ngo⁵ hai⁶ zai² lai⁴ gaa³ wo³. [Jyutping]

   I'm a guy, though.

5. (Cantonese, dialectal Hakka, Min Bei) Diminutive suffix.
   1. Denotes a young male of a particular trait.

      肥仔 [Cantonese]  ―  fei⁴ zai² [Jyutping]  ―  fatty

      後生仔／后生仔 [Cantonese]  ―  hau⁶ saang¹ zai² [Jyutping]  ―  young man

   2. Denotes a young male of a particular occupation or background, often demeaningly.

      打工仔 [Cantonese]  ―  daa² gung¹ zai² [Jyutping]  ―  young worker

      拔萃仔 [Cantonese]  ―  bat⁶ seoi⁶ zai² [Jyutping]  ―  DBS kid

      日本仔 [Cantonese]  ―  jat⁶ bun² zai² [Jyutping]  ―  Japanese guy

   3. Used to call somebody affectionately. (For names, it is only used for males.)

      明仔 [Cantonese]  ―  ming⁴ zai² [Jyutping]  ―  Little Ming

      強仔／强仔 [Cantonese]  ―  koeng⁴ zai² [Jyutping]  ―  Little Keung

      老婆仔 [Cantonese]  ―  lou⁵ po⁴ zai² [Jyutping]  ―  wifey

   4. Demeaningly denotes somebody of a particular occupation or position.

      秘書仔／秘书仔 [Cantonese]  ―  bei³ syu¹ zai² [Jyutping]  ―  a mere secretary

   5. Denotes a young animal.

      狗仔 [Cantonese]  ―  gau² zai² [Jyutping]  ―  puppy

      羊仔 [Cantonese]  ―  joeng⁴ zai² [Jyutping]  ―  lamb

   6. Denotes something that is small in size.

      凳仔 [Cantonese]  ―  dang³ zai² [Jyutping]  ―  small stool

      雀仔 [Cantonese]  ―  zoek³ zai² [Jyutping]  ―  birdie

      眼仔睩睩 [Cantonese]  ―  ngaan⁵ zai² luk¹ luk¹ [Jyutping]  ―  little eyes rolling

   7. Denotes the younger sibling of one's spouse.

      叔仔 [Cantonese]  ―  suk¹ zai² [Jyutping]  ―  brother-in-law (husband's younger brother)

      姨仔 [Cantonese]  ―  ji^4-1 zai² [Jyutping]  ―  sister-in-law (wife's younger sister)

   8. Used with single-syllable nouns without denoting a specific meaning.

      耳仔 [Cantonese]  ―  ji⁵ zai² [Jyutping]  ―  ears

6. (Cantonese) Used after a classifier to indicate that something is small in size and/or quantity.

   得嗰廿蚊仔，邊夠錢買嘢食呀？[Cantonese, trad.]
   
   得嗰廿蚊仔，边够钱买嘢食呀？[Cantonese, simp.]

   dak¹ go² jaa⁶ man¹ zai², bin¹ gau³ cin² maai⁵ je⁵ sik⁶ aa³? [Jyutping]

   With just a mere twenty bucks, how do we have enough to buy food?

7. (Cantonese, slang, neologism) Suffix placed after a verb or adjective to sound cute and affectionate.

   聽日就要返學仔喇。[Cantonese, trad.]
   
   听日就要返学仔喇。[Cantonese, simp.]

   ting¹ jat⁶ zau⁶ jiu³ faan¹ hok⁶ zai² laa³. [Jyutping]

   Tomorrow, you've got to go to school.

   我今日好開心仔呀！[Cantonese, trad.]
   
   我今日好开心仔呀！[Cantonese, simp.]

   ngo⁵ gam¹ jat⁶ hou² hoi¹ sam¹ zai² aa³! [Jyutping]

   I'm really happy today!

The word "chickee" actually means something in English (borrowed from a Native American term), but it does not have anything to do with chickens, little or otherwise):

Chikee or Chickee ("house" in the Creek and Mikasuki languages spoken by the Seminoles and Miccosukees) is a shelter supported by posts, with a raised floor, a thatched roof and open sides. Chickees are also known as chickee huts, stilt houses, or platform dwellings.

(source)

Tiny though it may be, 仔 is protean and powerful in its implications.

Selected readings

• "Tape bacteria, risotto cowboy, burning denim, and better to die" (8/21/12)
• "Diminutives and reduplicatives in Chinese" (12/31/15)

May 27, 2023 @ 10:27 pm · Filed by Victor Mair under Borrowing, Etymology, Lost in translation, Morphology

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