ce1 seoi2 maa5 lung4車水馬龍车水马龙
Jyutpingce1 seoi2 maa5 lung4
Yalechē séui máh lùhng
Definition
Bustling with heavy, non-stop traffic of vehicles; lively and congested.
neutraltransportplaces
How it's used
This idiom is used specifically to describe heavy road traffic or a busy street scene. It paints a vivid picture of cars moving like a flowing river and horses moving like a dragon, though in modern Hong Kong it refers almost exclusively to automobiles. It carries a slightly formal or literary tone, so it is more common in descriptive writing or news reports than in casual conversation.
Examples
This place is usually bustling with traffic, it is very hard to find a parking spot.
Look at how busy the street outside is with all the traffic.
Related words
Common phrases
the streets are bustling with traffic
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.
