gon1 zang1 zang1乾爭爭干争争

Jyutpinggon1 zang1 zang1

Yalegōn jāng jāng

Definition

Dry and hard, especially when describing food.

colloquialfooddescriptions

How it's used

This reduplicated adjective specifically targets the texture of food that has lost its moisture and become unpleasantly tough or crumbly. It implies a negative quality, suggesting the food is stale, overcooked, or poorly prepared. While it can describe things other than food in a metaphorical sense, its primary and most common use is in the kitchen or at the dining table.

Examples

le1呢gau6舊gon1乾zang1爭zang1爭gam3咁，hou2好naan4難sik6食aa4呀。

This piece of bread is so dry and hard, it tastes terrible.

nei5你zyu2煮di1啲faan6飯dim2點gaai2解gon1乾zang1爭zang1爭㗎？

Why is the rice you cooked so dry and hard?

Related words

see alsogon1 san1乾身gōn sānsee alsongaang6 gwak6 gwak6硬掘掘ngangh gwakh gwakh

Common phrases

gon1乾zang1爭zang1爭ge3嘅

dry and hard bread

gon1乾zang1爭zang1爭ge3嘅faan6飯

dry and hard rice

Common mistake

Do not confuse this with 乾巴巴, which is a Mandarin-influenced term often used to describe dry skin or a dry atmosphere. Stick to 乾爭爭 when specifically critiquing the texture of food in Cantonese.