ban1 haak3賓客宾客
Jyutpingban1 haak3
Yalebān haak
Definition
A guest; a visitor; a collective term for guests.
neutralpeople
How it's used
Refers specifically to formal or invited guests rather than casual visitors or customers. It carries a slightly more respectful or elevated tone compared to the everyday word 客人. You will often hear it used in the context of weddings, banquets, or official events.
Measure word
wai6位waihExamples
We have invited many guests to dinner at home tonight.
Are you ready to host the guests yet?
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using this to describe casual friends dropping by for a chat, as it sounds overly formal or stiff in that context. Use 客人 or 朋友 instead for informal situations.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
