co1 jat1 lau4 lau4初一流流
Definition
An expression used to warn against doing or saying something unlucky on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
How it's used
This expression serves as a cultural marker to remind people to maintain harmony and avoid conflict during the most important day of the Lunar New Year. It functions as a gentle rebuke or a plea for restraint, implying that bad behavior is particularly inappropriate on this specific date. The structure follows a common pattern in Cantonese where a time frame is followed by the suffix 流流 to emphasize that the event is happening right in the middle of that period.
Examples
Related words
Common phrases
Common mistake
Learners often mistake this for a literal description of the date, but it is actually a social signal used to discourage negative behavior. It is strictly tied to the cultural context of the Lunar New Year and cannot be used for other holidays or dates.
Grammar color guide
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).
