2.11 Vocabulary for People I

Classifiers for people:

go3
Used as the default classifier for people
wai2
More formal
Used to show respect or be polite to the people we refer to

💡 Tips:wai2 is only used in a few situations. When you are not sure, you can simply use 個 go3.

1.

jan4
jan2
person
💡 Tips: The pronunciation jan2 is sometimes used when the word appears right after the classifier 個 go3.
2.
男仔
naam4 zai2
teenage boy or young man
3.
女仔
neoi5 zai2
teenage girl or young woman
4.
男人
naam4 jan2
man
5.
女人
neoi5 jan2
woman
6.
朋友
pang4 jau5
friend
7.
friend
fen1
friend
8.
同學
tung4 hok6
classmate
9.
同事
tung4 si6
colleague
10.
阿頭
aa3 tau2
supervisor
11.
上司
soeng6 si1
[formal] supervisor
12.
老闆
lou5 baan2
boss
13.
老細
lou5 sai3
boss
14.
男朋友
naam4 pang4 jau5
boyfriend
15.
女朋友
neoi5 pang4 jau5
girlfriend
16.
老公
lou5 gung1
husband
17.
老婆
lou5 po4
wife
18.
先生
sin1 saang1
[more formal] husband
19.
太太
taai3 taai2
[more formal] wife

We can use these gender-neutral terms to refer to a partner.

20.
另一半
ling6 jat1 bun3
other half
21.
伴侶
bun6 leoi5
partner
22.
partner
paat1 naa4
partner
  1. When we refer to a person with indication of the person’s gender, we pick the word based on the person’s age. For teenagers or young adults, we can use 男仔 naam4 zai2 or 女仔 neoi5 zai2. For adults, we can use 男人 naam4 jan2 or 女人 neoi5 jan2.

  2. tung4 = together
    同學 tung4 hok6 = 同 tung4 (‘together’) + 學 hok6 (‘to learn’)
    同事 tung4 si6 = 同 tung4 (‘together’) + 事 si6 (‘to do’)

  3. 上司 soeng6 si1 is more formal than 阿頭 aa3 tau2. 上司 soeng6 si1 is less frequently used in everyday conversations. Both 老闆 lou5 baan2 and 老細 lou5 sai3 are frequently used.

  4. 先生 sin1 saang1 and 太太 taai3 taai2 are more formal than 老公 lou5 gung1 and 老婆 lou5 po4. We usually use 先生 sin1 saang1 and 太太 taai3 taai2 when we want to be polite and show respect to the person we refer to.

😈 Sensitive Content

In very informal conversations, we can use the classifier tiu4, instead of 個 go3 or 位 wai2, when referring to a person. Note that some people consider the use of 條 tiu4 vulgar and find it offensive.

We often use 條 tiu4 with the words jau2 (‘guy’), zai2 (‘teenage boy or young man’) and neoi2 (‘teenage girl or young woman’) in a demonstrative construction to refer to someone informally.

Demonstrative
Classifier
Noun

ni1
this

tiu4

jau2
guy

go2
that

zai2
teenage boy or young man

neoi2
teenage girl or young woman

呢條友
ni1 tiu4 jau2
this guy

嗰條仔
go2 tiu4 zai2
that teenage boy or young man

嗰條女
go3 tiu4 neoi2
that teenage girl or young woman

We also use 條 tiu4 with the words 仔 zai2 and 女 neoi2 in a possessive construction to refer to someone’s boyfriend or girlfriend informally. Notice the meanings of 仔 zai2 and 女 neoi2 become ‘boyfriend’ and ‘girlfriend’ respectively here.

Demonstrative
Classifier
Noun
Personal pronoun

tiu4

zai2
boyfriend
Person’s name

neoi2
girlfriend

佢條女
keoi5 tiu4 neoi2
his / her girlfriend

Janice條仔
Janice tiu4 zai2
Janice’s boyfriend

Made with in Hong Kong.

© 2024 Open Cantonese. All rights reserved.