caai1 gun2差館差馆
Jyutpingcaai1 gun2
Yalechāai gún
Definition
Police station; the office building of police officers in a district.
colloquialplaces
How it's used
Refers to the police station in a casual, everyday manner that is far more common in speech than the formal term 警署. While it sounds slightly informal, it is not considered disrespectful or slangy, and is used by people of all ages. It carries a slightly gritty, streetwise connotation often associated with older Hong Kong crime films.
Measure word
gaan1間gānExamples
Do you know where the nearest police station is?
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using this term in formal written reports or when speaking directly to police officers in a professional capacity, as it may sound too colloquial or dismissive.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
