gok3 haa6閣下阁下
Jyutpinggok3 haa6
Yalegok hah
Definition
An honorific second-person pronoun; you, sir, or madam.
writtenpeoplecommunication
How it's used
Reserved for formal or written contexts, this term is rarely used in casual daily conversation. It carries a sense of distance and extreme politeness, often appearing in business correspondence or official documents. Using it in a friendly chat can sound sarcastic or overly dramatic.
Examples
May I ask how I should address you?
Your opinion is truly valuable.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use this in everyday settings where it sounds unnatural or pretentious. For standard polite address, it is much better to use the person's title followed by 先生 or 女士.
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.
