ci4 joeng6辭讓辞让
Jyutpingci4 joeng6
Yalechìh yeuhng
Definition
To decline politely.
writtencommunicationother
How it's used
Reflects a formal or literary tone that is rarely used in casual daily speech. It carries a sense of modesty or social etiquette, often implying that the person declining is doing so out of humility rather than a lack of interest. In modern Hong Kong, people usually prefer using 婉拒 or 唔好意思推辭 instead.
Examples
He politely declined the gift.
Why do you need to be so polite and decline?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistake this for a common verb, but using it in a casual setting can make you sound overly stiff or like you are reading from a historical drama script.
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.
