dau3 lung4 syun4鬥龍船斗龙船
Jyutpingdau3 lung4 syun4
Yaledau lùhng syùhn
Definition
To race dragon boats.
colloquialfestivalsports
How it's used
Focuses specifically on the competitive aspect of the sport rather than the festival itself. While the event is often called 龍舟競渡 in formal or written contexts, 鬥龍船 is the natural, punchy way to describe the act of racing in spoken Cantonese. It carries a sense of physical exertion and team spirit.
Examples
Are you going to watch the dragon boat races this Dragon Boat Festival?
They have been practicing for a long time, just for the dragon boat race.
Related words
Common phrases
go dragon boat racing
watch dragon boat racing
Common mistake
Avoid using this to refer to the boat itself, which is 龍舟. 鬥龍船 is strictly the activity or the event of racing.
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.
