giu2 jau4 zou6 zok3矯揉造作矫揉造作
Jyutpinggiu2 jau4 zou6 zok3
Yalegíu yàuh jouh jok
Definition
Affected, pretentious, unnatural, or overly artificial.
colloquialdescriptionspeople
How it's used
Describes behavior that feels deliberately staged or overly performative to impress others. It is often used to criticize someone who is trying too hard to appear sophisticated, elegant, or innocent. The term carries a strong negative connotation of insincerity.
Examples
The way they speak is so pretentious, it sounds really uncomfortable.
Why do you have to be so affected? Just be yourself.
Related words
Common phrases
pretentious attitude
affected behavior
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe someone who is simply shy or quiet. It specifically targets people who are actively putting on a fake persona or acting in an unnatural way to manipulate how they are perceived.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
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.
