hap6 tou4合桃
Jyutpinghap6 tou4
Yalehahp tòuh
Definition
Walnut; a light brown edible nut with a hard shell, resembling a brain.
colloquialfood
How it's used
Walnuts are frequently associated with traditional Chinese medicine and health beliefs, specifically the idea that they resemble the human brain and therefore improve cognitive function. You will often see them used in desserts like walnut soup or walnut cookies rather than just eaten raw as a snack. While the term 核桃 is also understood, 合桃 is the standard way to write and say it in Hong Kong.
Measure word
nap1粒nāpExamples
I eat a few walnuts every day to boost my brain health.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with other nuts like 腰果 or 花生. Learners sometimes mistakenly use the Mandarin term 核桃, which is technically correct but less common in local Cantonese writing and speech.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
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Connector
Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
