gau6 lik6舊曆旧历
Jyutpinggau6 lik6
Yalegauh lihk
Definition
The traditional East Asian lunisolar calendar, also known as the Chinese or lunar calendar.
colloquialtimefestival
How it's used
People in Hong Kong use 舊曆 and 農曆 interchangeably to refer to the traditional calendar. While 陰曆 is technically accurate, it is less common in casual speech than the other two terms. It is almost always used when discussing birthdays or traditional festivals like the Mid Autumn Festival.
Examples
Do you know what date your lunar birthday is this year?
Older people usually prefer celebrating their lunar birthday more.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the Gregorian calendar, which is referred to as 新曆 or 西曆. Using 舊曆 to refer to any old calendar system outside of the traditional East Asian one will cause confusion.
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.
