cin1 gwan1 jat1 faat3千鈞一髮千钧一发
Jyutpingcin1 gwan1 jat1 faat3
Yalechīn gwān yāt faat
Definition
To hang by a thread; to be in a highly critical or extremely dire situation.
writtendescriptions
How it's used
Emphasizes a moment of extreme danger where the outcome hangs by a thread. It is a formal idiom often used in news reports or dramatic storytelling to describe a narrow escape or a high stakes situation. While it is understood in spoken Cantonese, it is not a casual phrase you would use in everyday small talk.
Examples
It was a really dire moment back then, we almost crashed.
Related words
Common phrases
a critical moment
Common mistake
Learners often mistake this for a common adjective to describe being busy or stressed, but it specifically refers to a life or death or catastrophic level of urgency.
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).
