gwai3 dou6季度
Jyutpinggwai3 dou6
Yalegwai douh
Definition
A quarter of a year; a three-month period.
neutralworktime
How it's used
Primarily used in formal, business, or financial contexts to discuss fiscal periods. While it literally refers to a three month span, it is almost exclusively paired with numerical indicators to denote specific financial or reporting periods. It sounds unnatural in casual conversation when talking about the four seasons of the year, for which 季節 is the standard term.
Measure word
go3個goExamples
Business was really bad in the first quarter of this year.
Have you seen the latest quarterly report yet?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe the weather or the natural seasons, as that would be confusing and incorrect. Stick to 季節 for weather or nature, and reserve 季度 for business, academic, or statistical timeframes.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Aspect markersCantonese has no tenses, but it does have aspect markers. Learn how zo2, gwo3, gan2, and hai2 dou6 show completion, experience, and ongoing action.
- 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.
