18.6 The Noun 嘢 je5 (‘thing’) I

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The word 嘢 je5 is translated as ‘thing’ in English. However, in Cantonese, 嘢 je5 can sometimes refer to things that are not usually referred as thing in English.

For example, if we put 嘢 je5 after a place name, 嘢 je5 can refer to the type of cuisine or food from that place.

我想食日本嘢。
ngo5 soeng2 sik6 jat6 bun2 je5.
I want to eat Japanese cuisine or food.
日本嘢 jat6 bun2 je5 literally means ‘Japanese + thing’, but it means ‘Japanese cuisine or food’ here.

We will see other examples in the later lessons.