co2 co2 ho2 lin4楚楚可憐楚楚可怜
Jyutpingco2 co2 ho2 lin4
Yalechó chó hó lìhn
Definition
Delicate and charming; referring to a person, especially a woman, who looks pitiful, helpless, and lovely.
colloquialdescriptionspeople
How it's used
Often used to describe someone who appears fragile or vulnerable in a way that evokes sympathy or protection. While it implies a sense of beauty, it can also be used sarcastically to suggest someone is feigning helplessness to manipulate others. It is a set idiom that functions as an adjective, typically following the verb 係 or appearing in a descriptive structure with 咁樣.
Examples
She looks so delicate and pitiful when she starts crying.
Related words
Common phrases
having a delicate and pitiful appearance
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe someone who is genuinely suffering from a serious illness or tragedy, as the term carries a strong aesthetic connotation of being 'charming' or 'delicate' rather than just being in pain.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
