How do I use hán-kiânn 罕行?

[FutureSpy]

I found this expression hán-kiânn ooh 罕行--ooh on my Taiwanese phrasebook, but I'm not quite sure of how to use it and when. They translate it as ご無沙汰しております, but that expression in Japanese is usually used in letters, not in spoken Japanese (unless it's a very formal setting). The Mandarin translation in the book is 好久不見. My Cebuano tutor said she's not familiar with that expression.

MOE's dictionary explains it like that:

稀客。對很少到訪的客人表示歡迎的招呼語。例：真罕行，你今仔日哪有閒通來？Tsin hán-kiânn, lí kin-á-ji̍t ná ū-îng thang lâi? (真是稀客，你今天怎麼會有空來？)

So should that be used when you have guests?

[amhoanna]

As a part of speech, it's an adjective. The usage is much like LONG TIME NO SEE but it can only be used by the person who's on their home turf, in reference to someone who's not.

U work in a mall in Singapore. U see a friend U haven't seen in some time, who lives, works and plays all the way on the other side of the country. U can say, "Hánkiâⁿ õ‧!"

Let's say U're playing golf on an island in Riau over the weekend. U don't go there often. U see a friend U haven't seen in some time. U cannot use the word in this scenario, unless your friend is from outside SE Asia and doesn't go to SE Asia often. And even then it would be kind of in jest, b/c SE Asia is too big to be a home turf for the purposes of this word.

[amhoanna]

I need to add my non-native-speaker disclaimer, since I haven't in some time. Niuc may be better able to shed some light on this word.

[amhoanna]

Are U familiar with the 台日大辞典? It's easily among the best Hoklo dictionaries in existence. There's a Hoklo-Hoklo web version on the FHL website, poss. not that helpful for a learner b/c the definitions are in Hoklo too, but it links to scans of the original Hoklo-Japanese version

For 罕行:
http://taigi.fhl.net/dict/gm.php?fn=B/B0574.png

The quality of editing for this dictionary was incredibly high. It also presents the Hoklo language as spoken on early 20th century Taiwan W/O lexical "contamination" from Japanese; all Japanese loanwords are labelled as such (国語).

[FutureSpy]

The usage is much like LONG TIME NO SEE but it can only be used by the person who's on their home turf, in reference to someone who's not.

Oh, now it makes sense to me why they translated it that way in Japanese Thanks!

The quality of editing for this dictionary was incredibly high.

I knew that dictionary, but I guess I was never curious enough to click on 原冊掃描 and peep what it was actually Thanks! BTW, seeing Taiwanese written in kana makes me shudder just like when they write Ainu in kana... I can't get used to the idea!

[niuc]

I need to add my non-native-speaker disclaimer, since I haven't in some time. Niuc may be better able to shed some light on this word.

Amhoanna, thank you for explaining about this word. So far I have never used it. My mom's understanding of it is the same as yours, but according to her it is hardly used in Bagan. Guá ē khioh khiái īng!

[FutureSpy]

Thanks for the explanations amhoanna. And thanks for confirming it, niuc. A new expression added to my vocabulary, although I'm not sure if I'll ever have an opportunity to actually use it, since I'm the one who visit Taiwanese people and not the opposite... I heard "kiú-kiàn, kiú-kiàn" or "ch(i)ok kù bô khòaN", but never "hán-kiâN". Sometimes they just say "lí lâi--ah"

@amhoanna: I checked the dictionary and I'm surprised some on'yomi 音読み don't match nowadays Standard Japanese pronunciations. I'll download the whole dictionary and generate a PDF for easier browsing. BTW, I found a few Hokkien learning materials from Japanese rule period, but still haven't had time to check them carefully...

[amhoanna]

Suksma, Niuc. Much appreciated.