fei1 saa1 zau2 naai5飛沙走奶飞沙走奶
Jyutpingfei1 saa1 zau2 naai5
Yalefēi sā jáu náaih
Definition
Black coffee or tea served without sugar or milk.
colloquialfooddrink
How it's used
This is a classic piece of Hong Kong cha chaan teng slang that originated from the Cantonese pronunciation of coffee and sugar. 沙 refers to sugar, which looks like sand, while 奶 refers to evaporated milk. Using this term shows you are familiar with local cafe culture and can order like a regular.
Examples
Related words
Common mistake
Do not use this term in formal settings or high end cafes, as it is strictly colloquial and specific to local tea restaurants. It is also exclusively used for coffee, so do not try to apply it to tea or other beverages.
Grammar color guide
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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).
