fui3 hei3晦氣晦气
Jyutpingfui3 hei3
Yalefui hei
Definition
To vent anger or take revenge on someone; bad luck.
- to vent anger, pick a fight, or take revenge on someone
- bad luck; misfortune
colloquialemotionpeople
How it's used
Focuses on the act of venting frustration or seeking confrontation with someone who is perceived as the source of one's bad luck or annoyance. It implies a sense of irrationality, where the person being targeted is often not the actual cause of the problem. It is frequently used in the phrase 搵人晦氣 to describe someone looking for a scapegoat to blame or attack.
Examples
Why are you picking a fight with me for no reason?
He is in a bad mood today and keeps taking it out on others.
Related words
Common phrases
to pick a fight with someone
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the Mandarin usage which can refer to bad luck or an unlucky atmosphere. In Cantonese, it is almost exclusively used as a verb phrase involving interpersonal conflict or venting anger.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
