faan1 caau2翻炒
Jyutpingfaan1 caau2
Yalefāan cháau
Definition
To reheat leftover food, or to rehash old information or news to draw attention.
- to reheat or recook leftover food
- figurativeto rehash, repeat, or bring up old information or gossip
colloquialfoodcommunication
How it's used
Beyond the literal act of reheating food in a wok, this term is heavily used in media and social contexts to describe the recycling of old news, scandals, or tired jokes. It carries a slightly negative connotation of laziness or lack of creativity. When used in a professional or journalistic setting, it implies that the content being presented lacks genuine substance or novelty.
Examples
This news is already outdated, why rehash it again?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 炒飯, which specifically refers to the dish of fried rice. While 翻炒 involves the physical action of stir-frying, it is rarely used to describe the actual cooking process of a fresh meal from scratch.
Grammar color guide
Noun
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Grammar guides
- Aspect markersCantonese has no tenses, but it does have aspect markers. Learn how zo2, gwo3, gan2, and hai2 dou6 show completion, experience, and ongoing action.
- 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.
