hai4兮
Jyutpinghai4
Yalehàih
Definition
An exclamatory auxiliary particle used in classical Chinese poetry, similar to "ah" or "oh".
writtenparticle
How it's used
This particle is strictly confined to classical Chinese literature and poetry. It serves as a rhythmic pause or an exclamatory marker to heighten the emotional tone of a verse. You will never encounter it in spoken Cantonese, as it belongs entirely to the written tradition of ancient texts.
Examples
The road ahead is long and winding, I will search high and low for the truth.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use this in modern writing or speech, where it sounds jarringly archaic and pretentious. It is not a functional particle in any contemporary dialect.
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.
