haan1 faan1 daam6 hei3慳番啖氣悭番啖气
Jyutpinghaan1 faan1 daam6 hei3
Yalehāan fāan daahm hei
Definition
To save one's breath; to stop talking because it is a waste of effort.
colloquialcommunicationdaily actions
How it's used
Used when someone is about to engage in a futile argument or attempt to persuade someone who is clearly stubborn or unreasonable. It carries a dismissive tone, implying that the other person is not worth the effort of speaking. It is frequently paired with advice to stop talking or to walk away from the situation.
Examples
He won't listen at all, just save your breath.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with literal breathing exercises or medical contexts, as it is strictly used as an idiom for giving up on a conversation. It is also not a direct translation of the English idiom save your breath, though the meaning is identical.
Grammar color guide
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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.
