gu2蠱蛊
Jyutpinggu2
Yalegú
Definition
A legendary venomous insect, or to bewitch and harm through witchcraft.
- archaiclegendary venomous insect
- literaryto bewitch; to harm by witchcraft
colloquialpeopleother
How it's used
While the literal meaning refers to ancient sorcery involving venomous insects, it is almost exclusively used today in the compound 蠱惑 to describe someone who is cunning, crafty, or up to no good. The character itself carries a strong negative connotation of manipulation or trickery. You will rarely hear it used in its original sense outside of historical dramas or folklore discussions.
Examples
He acts like he has been bewitched, giggling all day long.
You had better not learn these tricky, deceitful tactics.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the word for 'insect' which is 蟲. Learners often mistake the visual similarity between the two characters, but 蠱 specifically implies a malicious or supernatural element.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
