din2 dong3典當典当
Jyutpingdin2 dong3
Yaledín dong
Definition
To pawn an item; to pledge personal property to a pawnbroker as collateral for a loan.
neutralmoneydaily actions
How it's used
While 典當 is the formal term for pawning, most people in daily life simply use the word 當. You will often hear people say 去當嘢 or 拎去當，which sounds much more natural in conversation than the formal 典當. The term is heavily associated with the traditional pawn shop culture in Hong Kong, where the symbol of a bat holding a coin is iconic.
Examples
He was so short on cash that he pawned his watch.
Do you really have to pawn this family heirloom?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse 典當 with 抵押, which is a broader legal or financial term for collateral. 典當 specifically refers to the act of taking a physical item to a pawn shop for a loan, whereas 抵押 can apply to large assets like property or stocks in a banking context.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
