gaai1 taam4 hong6 ji5街談巷議街谈巷议
Jyutpinggaai1 taam4 hong6 ji5
Yalegāai tàahm hohng yíh
Definition
Street gossip, rumours, and public chatter among ordinary people.
writtencommunicationpeople
How it's used
This is a formal idiom that sounds slightly out of place in very casual, fast-paced daily chatter. It carries a sense of detached observation, often used by journalists or writers to describe public sentiment or unverified hearsay. Using it in a casual conversation might make you sound like you are reading from a newspaper column.
Examples
These are just street rumors, don't believe them so quickly.
They love talking about street gossip in their spare time.
Related words
Common phrases
filled with street gossip
become the subject of street gossip
Common mistake
Learners often mistake this for a verb phrase, but it functions strictly as a noun. You cannot say someone is '街談巷議' to mean they are gossiping; you must say they are '講緊街談巷議'.
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.
