faan1 taan1番攤番摊
Jyutpingfaan1 taan1
Yalefāan tāan
Definition
Fan-tan; a traditional Chinese gambling game played with buttons, beads, or coins divided into groups of four.
colloquialother
How it's used
This term is deeply tied to historical gambling culture in Southern China and is rarely used in modern contexts outside of historical discussions or period dramas. The process of dividing the items by four is the defining characteristic of the game, which is why the name literally translates to repeated division. It is often associated with old-fashioned gambling dens rather than modern casinos.
Examples
Old people in the past really liked to go play Fan-tan.
Do you know how to play Fan-tan?
Related words
Common phrases
to play Fan-tan
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.



