bou3 cyun3報串报串
Jyutpingbou3 cyun3
Yalebou chyun
Definition
To rat on; to inform on someone or report their wrongdoing to an authority.
colloquialpeoplecommunication
How it's used
Carries a strong negative connotation of betrayal or being a tattletale. It implies that the person reporting is doing so to gain favor or cause trouble for others, rather than out of a sense of justice. It is frequently used in school or workplace settings to describe someone who runs to authority figures to get peers in trouble.
Examples
Why did you rat on me?
He is always snitching, it is so annoying.
Related words
Common phrases
to snitch to someone
Common mistake
Do not use this for formal reporting of serious crimes to the police, as it sounds petty and informal. Use 舉報 for official or serious contexts instead.
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.
