fung1 tau4 fo2 sai3風頭火勢风头火势
Jyutpingfung1 tau4 fo2 sai3
Yalefūng tàuh fó sai
Definition
A critical, tense, or highly volatile situation.
colloquialotherpeople
How it's used
This idiom is used to describe a moment of high tension or public scrutiny where any action could lead to negative consequences. It implies that the environment is volatile and one should lie low or avoid drawing attention to oneself. It is frequently used when advising someone to wait for the situation to calm down before taking action.
Examples
The situation is critical right now, you must not act recklessly.
Why would you go and look for trouble when things are so critical?
Related words
Common phrases
under such critical circumstances
Common mistake
Learners often mistake this for a literal description of weather or fire, but it is purely metaphorical. It is not used to describe physical danger like a natural disaster, but rather social, political, or interpersonal tension.
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.
