gei1肌
Jyutpinggei1
Yalegēi
Definition
Muscle; soft fibrous tissue attached to bones or forming internal organs that assists in movement.
colloquialbodyhealth
How it's used
While 肌 is a valid morpheme, it is rarely used as a standalone noun in spoken Cantonese. It almost exclusively appears as a bound form in compound words like 肌肉 or as a shorthand in fitness contexts like 操肌. Using it alone in a sentence will sound unnatural or overly literary.
Examples
He has been working out his muscles very diligently lately.
Do you feel any muscle pain after exercising?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often try to use 肌 as a direct translation for muscle in all contexts, but you must use 肌肉 for general reference. Only use 肌 when it is part of a specific compound or a colloquial shorthand in a gym setting.
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.
