fau4蜉
Jyutpingfau4
Yalefàuh
Definition
Mayfly.
writtenanimalsnature
How it's used
This term is almost exclusively used in the context of the literary idiom 蜉蝣撼大樹, which describes someone attempting to achieve an impossible task by overestimating their own strength. Outside of this specific idiom, the word is rarely used in daily life as people typically refer to insects using more general terms. It carries a poetic or philosophical weight rather than a biological one.
Measure word
zek3隻jekExamples
The lifespan of a mayfly is very short.
Related words
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.



