baak3 maan6百萬百万
Jyutpingbaak3 maan6
Yalebaak maahn
Definition
Million; the number 1,000,000.
neutralnumbersmoney
How it's used
Unlike English where million is a noun that can stand alone, 百萬 functions as a number in Cantonese. It is almost always followed by a classifier or a noun, such as 百萬蚊 for a million dollars. When referring to wealth, it is common to use the phrase 百萬身家 to describe someone's total assets.
Examples
His family has a net worth of a million.
Do you want to win a million in prize money?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often forget to add the currency unit like 蚊 after the number, which makes the sentence sound incomplete. Saying just 百萬 is like saying 'a million' without specifying what is being counted.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
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.
