gwok3 gaa1 gei1 gwaan1國家機關国家机关
Jyutpinggwok3 gaa1 gei1 gwaan1
Yalegwok gā gēi gwāan
Definition
State organs; national or state institutions and organizations.
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How it's used
This term is formal and carries a strong political or administrative weight, typically referring to government bodies or state-level institutions. It is rarely used in casual conversation and is mostly encountered in news reports, official documents, or legal contexts. When speaking about local Hong Kong government departments, people usually prefer specific terms like 政府部門 instead.
Measure word
go3個goExamples
This document was issued by a national organization.
Do you know which national organization is responsible for this matter?
Common phrases
staff of national organizations
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use this term to refer to any public organization or NGO, but it strictly implies state-level authority. Using it to describe a local community center or a private charity would sound unnatural and overly grandiose.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
