baak6 gwo3白過白过
Jyutpingbaak6 gwo3
Yalebaahk gwo
Definition
To waste one's time; to spend a period of time without accomplishing anything meaningful.
colloquialtimedaily actions
How it's used
Focuses on the feeling of regret or emptiness after a period of time has passed without productivity or enjoyment. It is often used to describe a sense of aimlessness, such as sitting around doing nothing or failing to achieve any goals during a specific timeframe.
Examples
I wasted the whole day at home doing nothing.
Do you really want to waste your entire summer holiday?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the comparative structure where 白 means white, such as 白過你, which would mean whiter than you. The context of time or duration is essential to identify this specific usage.
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.
