gwai2 si5鬼市
Jyutpinggwai2 si5
Yalegwái síh
Definition
Dawn market; an unlicensed street market that operates early in the morning to evade law enforcement.
colloquialplacesshopping
How it's used
Historically, this term refers to markets that operate in the shadows of the night to avoid authorities or taxes. While it carries a slightly illicit or mysterious connotation, it is often used today to describe any informal, early morning street market that lacks official permits. The term implies a transient nature, as these markets vanish before the city fully wakes up.
Measure word
go3個goExamples
This place used to be a dawn market; it would disperse as soon as the sun came up.
Related words
Common phrases
to browse a dawn market
the dawn market disperses
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with a literal haunted market or a ghost festival, as the term is strictly about the timing and legality of the trade rather than anything supernatural.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
