guk1閰
Jyutpingguk1
Yalegūk
Definition
To shut or close.
colloquialdaily actions
How it's used
Pronounced as 'gaam3', this character is the authentic Cantonese way to express the act of shutting or closing something, particularly doors, windows, or eyes. While standard written Chinese often uses 關, Cantonese speakers frequently use 閰 in daily speech to describe the physical action of closing. It carries a sense of finality or completeness when paired with the aspect marker 咗.
Examples
Is the door shut yet?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often confuse this with 關, which is the standard character used in formal writing and Mandarin. While 閰 is perfectly acceptable in spoken Cantonese, you will rarely see it in formal documents or news reports, where 關 is preferred.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
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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).
