cung4 tau4 dou3 mei5從頭到尾从头到尾

Jyutpingcung4 tau4 dou3 mei5

Yalechùhng tàuh dou méih

語句

Definition

From beginning to end; from start to finish; the whole time.

colloquialtimedescriptions

How it's used

Focuses on the entire duration of an event or the entirety of a narrative. It is frequently used to emphasize that a state or action remained constant throughout a specific period, often implying a sense of frustration or disbelief when used with negative markers like 冇.

Examples

keoi5佢cung4從tau4頭dou3到mei5尾dou1都mou5冇gong2講gwo3過jat1一geoi3句zan1真waa2話。

He never said a single word of truth from start to finish.

le1呢tou3套hei3戲gam3咁mun6悶，nei5你hai6係mai6咪cung4從tau4頭dou3到mei5尾dou1都fan3瞓zo2咗gok3覺？

This movie is so boring, did you sleep through the whole thing?

Common phrases

cung4從tau4頭dou3到mei5尾dou1都hai6係

it was like that from start to finish

cung4從tau4頭dou3到mei5尾mou5冇

none at all from beginning to end

Common mistake

Avoid using this to describe physical distance or spatial movement, as it specifically refers to temporal duration or the completeness of a process. For physical length, use 由頭到尾 in a literal sense, but be aware that the idiomatic usage is almost exclusively temporal.