bat1 siu2 sam1不小心
Jyutpingbat1 siu2 sam1
Yalebāt síu sām
Definition
Careless, or accidentally; without paying attention.
- careless; inattentive
- accidentally; by mistake
colloquialdescriptionsdaily actions
How it's used
Although the headword is written in standard characters, Cantonese speakers almost exclusively use the spoken form 唔小心 in daily life. It functions as both an adverb for accidental actions and an adjective for a careless personality. When used as an adjective, it often appears with the intensifier 好 or the particle 咁 to describe someone's behavior.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use the Mandarin-style structure to describe accidents, but in Cantonese, it is more natural to use 唔小心 followed by the verb and the aspect marker 咗 to indicate an accidental completion of an action.
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.
