dim2 siu2 dak1點少得点少得
Jyutpingdim2 siu2 dak1
Yaledím síu dāk
Definition
How can one do without, forget, or not include someone or something.
colloquialdaily actionsfood
How it's used
Emphasizes that something is an essential, indispensable component of a specific situation or activity. It is a rhetorical question that assumes the listener agrees that the item or person mentioned is mandatory. It is frequently used to highlight key ingredients in food or essential items for an event.
Examples
How can you forget to bring a camera when going on a trip?
How can you have hotpot without fatty beef?
Common phrases
Common mistake
Learners often mistake this for a literal question about quantity or counting, but it is strictly a rhetorical device used to express necessity. It cannot be used to ask about a missing item in a literal sense.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
