caak6賊贼
Jyutpingcaak6
Yalechaahk
Definition
Thief, robber, or thug; a variant pronunciation used in certain compound words.
colloquialpeople
How it's used
This character is primarily a bound morpheme in modern Cantonese, meaning it rarely stands alone as a noun in daily speech. It is most commonly encountered in compound words describing criminal activity or historical figures. The pronunciation is fixed in these specific compounds and does not shift based on the tone of surrounding characters.
Examples
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often confuse this with 偷, which is the verb for stealing. Remember that 賊 refers to the person or the role of the criminal, whereas 偷 is the action itself.
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.
