haam4 sung3鹹餸
Jyutpinghaam4 sung3
Yalehàahm sung
Definition
An extremely salty dish traditionally eaten by poor Cantonese families to help stretch a small amount of food to accompany rice.
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How it's used
Refers specifically to dishes with a high salt content intended to make a small amount of rice last longer. It carries a nostalgic connotation of frugality and the struggle of past generations. While it can literally mean any salty dish, it is most often used to describe traditional preserved foods like salted fish or fermented bean curd.
Measure word
dip2碟dípExamples
This salty dish really goes well with rice.
Why did you cook so many salty dishes?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the general term 餸 which refers to any side dish. Using 鹹餸 for a dish that is simply seasoned well or salty by recipe choice might imply the food is unpleasantly over-salted or cheap.
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.
