hei3 ce1汽車汽车
Jyutpinghei3 ce1
Yalehei chē
Definition
Car; automobile; motor vehicle.
neutraltransport
How it's used
People in Hong Kong rarely use the formal term 汽車 in daily conversation. Instead, the word 車 is used for almost any kind of vehicle, including cars, buses, and trains. Using 汽車 sounds like you are reading from a formal document or a news report.
Measure word
gaa3架gaExamples
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often use 汽車 when they simply mean a car, but this sounds overly formal or robotic. Use 車 for everyday situations to sound natural.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
