27.6 The Sentence Particle 咋 zaa3 II
Audio is not available for this page yet.
In Grammar and Vocabulary 9.2, we learned that we can use the sentence particle 咋 zaa3 to add the meaning of ‘only’ to a sentence.
We can also use the sentence particle 咋 zaa3 to emphasize the degree of something is not as high as what we or the listener originally thought (e.g., how attractive something is). Note that we only use 咋 zaa3 with some adverbs or adjectives.
For example, we can often use 咋 zaa3 with 唔係好 m4 hai6 hou2 (‘not very’) or 唔係幾 m4 hai6 gei2 (‘not quite’). Notice below when 咋 zaa3 and 喎 wo3 are used at the same time, we put 咋 zaa3 before 喎 wo3.
| A: | 呢個好似好吸引噉喎。 ni1 go3 hou2 ci5 hou2 kap1 jan5 gam2 wo3. This one seems very attractive. |
| B: | 好似唔係好吸引噉咋喎。 hou2 ci5 m4 hai6 hou2 kap1 jan5 gam2 zaa3 wo5. It doesn’t seem very attractive. [= I don’t think it is as attractive as you think.] |
We can also use 咋 with 麻麻哋 maa4 maa2 dei2 (‘so-so’).
| A: | 呢個好似好吸引噉喎。 ni1 go3 hou2 ci5 hou2 kap1 jan5 gam2 wo3. This one seems very attractive. |
| B: | 好似麻麻哋噉咋喎。 hou2 ci5 maa4 maa2 dei2 gam2 zaa3 wo5. It seems so-so. [= I think it is not as good as you think.] |