fu2腐
Jyutpingfu2
Yalefú
Definition
To rot, decay, or decompose.
neutralfooddescriptions
How it's used
Used primarily as a bound morpheme in compound words rather than as a standalone verb in daily speech. It carries a strong sense of organic breakdown or moral decline, often appearing in formal or descriptive contexts like 腐敗 or 腐爛. When describing food that has gone bad, speakers usually prefer more specific terms like 變壞 or 臭咗.
Examples
The fruit has been left out for too long and has completely rotted.
The wood here has all rotted away, it cannot be used.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistake this for the word 豆腐, where the character is used for its phonetic value or specific culinary meaning rather than its literal sense of decay. Do not use this to describe inanimate objects like metal rusting, which is better expressed as 生鏽.
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.
