fai1揮挥
Jyutpingfai1
Yalefāi
Definition
To wave or swing one's arm, either empty-handed or holding something.
colloquialdaily actionsbody
How it's used
Focuses on the physical motion of swinging or waving an arm or an object held in the hand. It is rarely used on its own as a standalone verb in casual speech, appearing most frequently in set phrases like 揮手 or 揮動. When describing the act of waving goodbye, it is almost exclusively paired with 手.
Examples
He is waving at me from far away.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe shaking hands, which is 握手. Learners sometimes confuse the swinging motion of 揮 with the shaking motion of 搖, but 揮 implies a larger, more deliberate arc through the air.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
