gau6 si4舊時旧时
Jyutpinggau6 si4
Yalegauh sìh
Definition
In the olden days; formerly or in the past.
colloquialtime
How it's used
Focuses on a sense of nostalgia or a contrast between the past and the present. It often implies that things have changed significantly since that time. While 以前 is a neutral way to say before, 舊時 carries a slightly more evocative or storytelling tone.
Examples
This place used to be very desolate in the old days.
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using it to refer to the immediate past, such as yesterday or last week. It is reserved for a more distant, historical, or personal past that feels like a different era.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- 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.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
