dou2 je6 hoeng1倒夜香
Jyutpingdou2 je6 hoeng1
Yaledóu yeh hēung
Definition
To empty night soil; the collection of human waste from privies at night.
colloquialother
How it's used
This term serves as a polite, historical euphemism for the manual collection of human waste before modern sewage systems were installed in Hong Kong. It reflects a time when specialized workers would visit households at night to empty buckets, a profession that has long since vanished. Using this phrase today evokes a strong sense of nostalgia for old urban living conditions.
Examples
People in the past had to be responsible for collecting night soil.
Do you know how they used to collect night soil back then?
Related words
Common phrases
night soil collector
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.
