gai1 seoi3雞碎鸡碎
Jyutpinggai1 seoi3
Yalegāi seui
Definition
A tiny amount of money; chicken feed.
colloquialmoney
How it's used
Evokes the image of chickens pecking at tiny grains of food on the ground, emphasizing how insignificant or insulting the amount of money is. It is almost always used to express dissatisfaction or to mock the inadequacy of a payment. The phrase is frequently paired with 咁多 to emphasize the small scale.
Examples
I worked all day, but the pay was just a pittance.
You only gave me such a tiny amount of money, how is that enough for groceries?
Related words
Common phrases
a tiny, measly amount
Common mistake
Avoid using this to describe small quantities of non-monetary items, as it specifically refers to financial compensation or pocket money. It is not a general-purpose term for small amounts of physical objects.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Aspect markersCantonese has no tenses, but it does have aspect markers. Learn how zo2, gwo3, gan2, and hai2 dou6 show completion, experience, and ongoing action.
- 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.
