委婉語 Euphemisms for Death in Cantonese

Euphemisms. Every language has them. Especially for death. These are expressions to replace unpleasant, taboo, or embarrassing ideas.  

Expressions for departure/ absence:

去咗 - left

走左 - gone

過左身 - passed on

唔係度 - not here

"Departure to a far away place" - These ones can be confusing because they might mean it literally or as a euphemism. 

移民 - left the country

過新加坡 - went to Singapore (also sounds like 過身)

做太空人 - went to space

行船 - went to work on a ship, which was a common occupation in port cities

Heaven- or hell-bound

去左西方極樂  歸西 - went to Sukhāvatī/ "Western Paradise" 

見閻羅王 - Went to see Yama (the Chinese version of Hades)

成左仙 - Become a god

Related to the physical characteristics of death or burial:

直咗 - body is straight and hardened

釘蓋  or 釘左 - nailed the coffin lid 

拉席 - the bamboo mat covering the body or used to transport the body

摺埋 - folding up the bamboo mat to cover the body (?)

拉柴 - either you had to bring firewood for the cremation, or the act of carrying firewood resembles transporting the body (see 拉席)

打柴 - collect the firewood for cremation, or allegedly it came from a police jargon 

賣鹹鴨蛋 or 賣左蛋 - preseving the body as if you preserve salty duck eggs

香左 - burning incense for you ancestors at the funeral, or using incense to preserve the body, or the opposite of the rotting smell

Miscellaneous/ less transparent meanings:

瓜咗 瓜咗老襯  瓜柴 (According to am730, this came about because it sounds similar to 掛了 in Mandarin. Personally I am skeptical about this origin. Others say it's related to 冬瓜豆腐, as in something bad happened to someone

骨頭打鼓 (Apparently this exists in many dialects of Chinese and relates to Chinese war history. 

Leave a comment if you know the origins of one of the expressions, or know any additional ways to say 賣左蛋.