Cantonese words starting with K

2,580 entries

to be unable to stand

husband of wife's younger sister

(literary) breadth of mind

(verb) ban to calculate; difficult to calculate

need a long time to calculate; a large amount

husband of wife's older sister

kam1 hing1 dai6

brothers-in-law whose wives are sisters; a more modern interpretation of this phrase is to refer to two guys who have slept with the same woman

(aircraft) wing flap

(verb) rack one's brains; spend great effort thinking about

(adjective) prohibit to die

one's true heart

not allow to watch; ban from watching

bosom (the seat of emotions)

kam1 waai4 ji4 kwong3

襟懷夷曠襟怀夷旷

kam1 waai4 taan2 baak6

襟懷坦白襟怀坦白

open and candid (idiom); not hiding anything; openhearted; magnanimous

(verb) ban to wear; forbid to wear

a badge; a medal

to hit the ball really hard to the ground; to smash the ball

to go bankrupt; to close down; to conceal something, especially news and information

(slang) (for police) to raid; to ransack; to be forced to shut down

the entire family

shut up! [colloquial]

'drop flag'; illegally cover the 'for hire' sign on a taxi while still in service; describes the situation where someone has passed away in the line of duty (flag draped over coffin)

to hold in (usually refers the mouth or eyes)

to capture; to arrest; to climb

small red apple (fruit)

(music instrument) Piano

(verb) 1. Grab; 2. Catch; 3. Arrest

Phragmites japonica

to capture a thief [written and colloquial]

kam4 caak6 kam4 wong4

擒賊擒王擒贼擒王

(idiom) to defeat the enemy by capturing their leader

kam4 caak6 sin1 kam4 wong4

擒賊先擒王擒贼先擒王

in war one must first catch the leader of the enemy to win, this is a metaphor to say that one must grasp the key crux before embarking on something

(adjective) hurried; rushed; hasty

poultry and livestock

kam4 gim3 piu1 ling4

琴劍飄零琴剑飘零

floating between zither and sword (idiom); fig. wandering aimlessly with no tenured position

kam4 gou1 kam4 dai1

to climb up and down

擒人節擒人节

(jocular) Valentine's Day, referring to the rising number of extramarrital affairs being discovered on that day

yesterday [colloquial]

string (of a stringed instrument)

kam4 kam4 cing1

very urgent, cannot wait, in a hurry

to describe mischievous restless children who love climbing up and down

kam4 kei4 syu1 waa2

琴棋書畫琴棋书画

(idiom) the four arts of the Chinese scholar (guqin, Go, calligraphy and painting); (by extension) the accomplishments of a well-educated person