cong1 wong4倉惶仓惶
Jyutpingcong1 wong4
Yalechōng wòhng
Definition
Panic-stricken, flurried, and not knowing what to do.
writtendescriptionsemotion
How it's used
Carries a literary or formal weight that makes it sound slightly out of place in very casual, everyday speech. While native speakers understand it perfectly, they often prefer more common colloquial alternatives like 慌張 or 手忙腳亂 when describing a state of panic. It is most frequently encountered in news reports, written narratives, or when someone wants to emphasize the chaotic nature of a sudden flight or escape.
Examples
Seeing the fire, everyone immediately fled in a panic.
He was packing his things in a flurried state, I don't know what happened.
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using this as a direct substitute for the common adjective 驚, which simply means scared. 倉惶 specifically describes the messy, disorganized, or flurried behavior that results from being panicked, rather than the feeling of fear itself.
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.
