cat1 hak1漆黑
Jyutpingcat1 hak1
Yalechāt hāk
Definition
Pitch-black; completely dark and devoid of light.
colloquialdescriptions
How it's used
This adjective is specifically reserved for environments that are completely devoid of light, often carrying a slightly dramatic or literary tone compared to simple words like 黑. It is almost always paired with 一片 to emphasize the vastness or totality of the darkness. While it can describe a room or a street, it is rarely used to describe the color of an object like a shirt or a car.
Examples
The room is pitch black, it scared me to death.
How did you find the keys in the pitch black?
Related words
Common phrases
pitch black all around
in the middle of the darkness
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use it to describe dark colors, but it strictly refers to the absence of light in a space. Use 深色 for dark colors instead.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
