coeng4 sing4長城长城
Jyutpingcoeng4 sing4
Yalechèuhng sìhng
Definition
Defensive walls covering a long distance, especially the Great Wall of China.
neutralplaces
How it's used
While referring to the specific historical monument in China, people almost always include the prefix 萬里 to form 萬里長城. Using just 長城 on its own is perfectly acceptable, but it sounds slightly more formal or academic when discussing the structure in a general sense. It is rarely used metaphorically in daily speech compared to its literal historical usage.
Measure word
dou6道douhExamples
We are going to Beijing to see the Great Wall next month.
Do you know which dynasty built the Great Wall?
Related words
Common phrases
The Great Wall of China
to climb the Great Wall
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.
