hak1 maa1 maa1黑孖孖
Jyutpinghak1 maa1 maa1
Yalehāk mā mā
Definition
Pitch-dark; pitch-black.
colloquialdescriptions
How it's used
Reduplication is a common feature in Cantonese to intensify adjectives, and adding the suffix 孖 creates a vivid, colloquial sense of complete darkness. It is specifically used for physical environments like rooms, streets, or forests rather than abstract concepts. Using it makes your description sound much more natural and expressive than simply saying 好黑.
Examples
The room is pitch-dark, turn on the light.
It's pitch-dark hiking there at night, I'm so scared.
Related words
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.
