cin1 saai2遷徙迁徙
Jyutpingcin1 saai2
Yalechīn sáai
Definition
To migrate or move from one habitat or location to another, especially of a group of people or animals.
writtenanimalspeople
How it's used
Focuses on large scale, collective movement rather than individual relocation. It is almost exclusively used in formal, academic, or documentary contexts to describe biological or historical phenomena. You would rarely use this in casual conversation to describe someone moving house, as 搬屋 is the standard term for that.
Examples
Those migratory birds migrate south every year to spend the winter.
Why does this ethnic group have to migrate to such a far place?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe moving house or changing jobs, as it sounds overly dramatic and scientific. It implies a significant, often permanent or seasonal shift in habitat or territory.
Grammar color guide
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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).
