gin3 gwaai3見怪见怪
Jyutpinggin3 gwaai3
Yalegin gwaai
Definition
To mind or take offense; to take something to heart or find it strange.
colloquialpeoplecommunication
How it's used
Primarily used in the negative form 唔好見怪 as a polite, formulaic apology when someone feels they have committed a minor social faux pas or failed to meet expectations. It functions as a humble way to ask for forgiveness or tolerance from the listener. It is rarely used in the affirmative except in very specific, formal, or literary contexts.
Examples
I spoke a bit loudly just now, please don't take it to heart.
keoi5佢dai6第jat1一ci3次lai4嚟nei1呢dou6度，jau5有me1咩zou6做dak1得m4唔hou2好，ceng2請nei5你m4唔hou2好gin3見gwaai3怪aa4呀。
It's their first time here, if they do anything wrong, please don't mind it.
Related words
Common phrases
please don't take it to heart
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 見怪不怪, which is a set idiom meaning to be so accustomed to something strange that it no longer seems weird. Using 見怪 on its own to mean 'to find something strange' is unnatural in modern spoken Cantonese.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
