dung1 gwai3冬季
Jyutpingdung1 gwai3
Yaledūng gwai
Definition
Winter; the coldest season of the year.
neutraltimeweather
How it's used
While 冬季 is technically the formal term for winter, it is almost exclusively used in written contexts, news reports, or formal announcements. In daily spoken Cantonese, people naturally use 冬天 instead. Using 冬季 in casual conversation can sound slightly stiff or like you are reading from a script.
Examples
This winter is especially cold, remember to wear an extra layer.
Do you like traveling during the winter?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often use 冬季 in casual conversation because they see it in textbooks, but it sounds unnatural compared to the everyday term 冬天.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
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).
