hei3 jau4汽油
Jyutpinghei3 jau4
Yalehei yàuh
Definition
Petrol; gasoline; a highly flammable liquid fuel refined from petroleum used to power engines.
neutraltransport
How it's used
Drivers in Hong Kong almost always use the verb 入油 when talking about refueling, rather than using the noun 汽油 itself. While 汽油 is the technical term for the substance, you will rarely hear people say 買汽油 in a casual context.
Examples
The car has run out of petrol, need to find a place to refuel.
Do you know where they sell petrol?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse 汽油 with 柴油, which is diesel. Using the wrong fuel type for a vehicle can cause serious mechanical damage, so be careful if you are ever renting a vehicle.
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.
