baai1掰
Jyutpingbaai1
Yalebāai
Definition
To break or split something apart with one's hands.
colloquialdaily actions
How it's used
While 掰 is used in some regional dialects, native Cantonese speakers almost exclusively use 搣開 to describe the act of pulling or breaking something apart with one's fingers. Using 掰 can sound like a Mandarin loanword or a written term that feels unnatural in casual conversation. It is specifically used for things that can be separated by force using the hands, such as bread, fruit, or small objects.
Examples
Please help me peel and split this orange so I can eat it.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often use 掰 because it appears in dictionaries, but it is rarely heard in daily speech compared to 搣開. If you use 掰, you might sound like you are reading from a textbook rather than speaking naturally.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
