gwaan3摜掼
Jyutpinggwaan3
Yalegwaan
Definition
To fling or throw down, or to be familiar with.
- to fling; to throw down
- to be familiar with; accustomed to
colloquialdaily actions
How it's used
Primarily used to describe the act of throwing something down with force, often out of frustration or anger. It carries a sense of violence or recklessness that distinguishes it from simply dropping something. While it can also mean to be familiar with something in certain dialects, this usage is less common in everyday Hong Kong speech compared to the physical action of throwing.
Examples
He was so angry that he threw the cup onto the floor.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the Mandarin word for wearing clothes, which is written with the same character but pronounced differently and carries a completely different meaning. In Cantonese, this character is strictly reserved for the physical act of throwing or smashing.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
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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).
