deng3 sei2 gau2掟死狗
Jyutpingdeng3 sei2 gau2
Yaledeng séi gáu
Definition
Rock-hard; describes pastry, bread, or cakes that are so hard and stale they could be thrown to kill a dog.
colloquialfooddescriptions
How it's used
This is a vivid, humorous idiom used to describe food that has become unpleasantly hard or stale. It functions as an adjective, often used with the particle 咁 to emphasize the extreme texture. While it literally references killing a dog, it is purely descriptive of food quality and lacks any malicious intent.
Examples
Are the cookies you made hard enough to kill a dog?
Related words
Common phrases
stale, rock-hard bread
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe objects that are naturally hard, like a stone or a table. It is strictly reserved for food items that were supposed to be soft or chewy but failed to meet that expectation.
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.
