In the Chinese dialect of Hokkien, this two-word phrase means 'deserve to be screwed'. When someone has done something so wrong that the unfavorable consequences seems justified. A vulgar equivalent of the English phrase 'asking for it', used in parts of Malaysia and Singapore.
"I told you to stop drinking from that stupid bottle and behaving like a total jerk in public. Now the cops are here. Hong kan liao." ('liao' has' no meaning but used to place emphasis. 'Hong Kan Liao can be replaced with 'Now we're really screwed' in this case.)
"Why do you have to keep showing off what you took from the supermarket? Hong kan ah?" (The word 'ah' is added at the end to for a question. In this case, 'Hong Kan Ah?' can be replaced with 'Asking for trouble?')
"Why do you have to keep showing off what you took from the supermarket? Hong kan ah?" (The word 'ah' is added at the end to for a question. In this case, 'Hong Kan Ah?' can be replaced with 'Asking for trouble?')
by Dr Chee Bye April 30, 2010
by dmxp May 30, 2005