coi3塞
Jyutpingcoi3
Yalechoi
Definition
A fort, fortress, or military-related facility.
writtenother
How it's used
Functions primarily as a bound morpheme in modern Cantonese, appearing almost exclusively in compound words like 要塞. It carries a formal, historical, or literary tone that is rarely used in casual daily conversation. When referring to general military facilities, speakers typically use more common terms like 軍營 or 基地.
Examples
This place used to be a military fortress.
How did they break through that fortress?
Related words
Common phrases
fortress or stronghold
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the common verb 塞, which means to block, stuff, or jam. The military sense is strictly limited to formal vocabulary and is not used as a standalone verb in spoken Cantonese.
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.
