dou1 zai2刀仔
Jyutpingdou1 zai2
Yaledōu jái
Definition
A small knife.
colloquialfoodhome
How it's used
Refers specifically to a small, handheld blade often used for fruit or light kitchen tasks. It carries a sense of being handy and portable compared to a larger kitchen cleaver. The term is frequently used in the idiom 刀仔鋸大樹 to describe achieving a massive result with minimal resources.
Measure word
baa2把báExamples
Bring a small knife over to cut the fruit.
Are there any other small knives in the kitchen?
Related words
Common phrases
to achieve a big goal with small means
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with a standard kitchen cleaver, which is simply called 刀. Using 刀仔 to refer to a large chef's knife will sound unnatural to native speakers.
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.
