Diu (Cantonese)
The Chinese Character Diu
- Diu is one of the 5 great profanities with the radical 門 (門氏五傑)¹ in Cantonese. It is originally written as a character with a 小 inside 門. However, due to its absense in the BIG5 character set, a homophone 屌 is used instead. Traditionally, Diu is used as a transitive verb meaning to penetrate (during sexual intercourse). For example, Diu Leung Shiu Tak means "to penetrate Leung Shiu Tak". Nowadays the meaning of Diu is not always sexual. Rather it is often used to express dismay, disgrace, disapproval and so on, just like the English word Fuck. For example, a person may shout Diu nei!² ("Fuck off!") at another person when he/she feels that the person is annoying.
¹ 門氏五傑 includes Diu ([門小] or 屌), Gau ([門九] or 鳩), Nen ([門能] or 撚), Tsat ([門七]), Hai([門西]). You may use the sentence 小狗能擦鞋 (Small dog can brush shoes) to help memorize it.
² nei (你) means you in Cantonese.
Alternative Written Form
The word "diu" may also be written as "鳥", which is also the character meaning "bird".