gung1供
Jyutpinggung1
Yalegūng
Definition
To offer sacrifices or tributes to gods or ancestors as a sign of respect.
neutralother
How it's used
Focuses specifically on the act of presenting food or items to deities or ancestors as a sign of reverence. It is rarely used as a standalone verb in casual speech, appearing most frequently in compound words like 供奉 or as part of formal ritualistic contexts. When people talk about daily offerings, they often prefer descriptive phrases like 擺祭品 instead.
Examples
You must make offerings to the ancestors during the Lunar New Year, don't be disrespectful.
Do you usually make offerings at the shrine?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the homophone 供 meaning to pay installments, such as 供樓, which is a common everyday term for paying a mortgage.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
