bun6 noeng2伴娘
Jyutpingbun6 noeng2
Yalebuhn néung
Definition
Maid of honour or bridesmaid.
colloquialpeoplefamily
How it's used
While the term specifically refers to the maid of honour, Hong Kong wedding culture often involves a group of bridesmaids who are collectively referred to as 姊妹. The 伴娘 is typically the one individual who stands closest to the bride throughout the ceremony and holds the bouquet during the vows. It is common for the 伴娘 to take on a leadership role among the 姊妹 group during the wedding day preparations.
Measure word
wai6位waihExamples
She asked her best friend to be the maid of honour.
Will you be very nervous when you are the maid of honour?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse 伴娘 with 姊妹. While 伴娘 is the singular maid of honour, 姊妹 refers to the entire bridal party of bridesmaids. Using 伴娘 to describe any bridesmaid is technically inaccurate, as there is usually only one.
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.
