hek3 dung1 sai1吃東西吃东西
Jyutpinghek3 dung1 sai1
Yalehek dūng sāi
Definition
To eat something or to have a meal.
colloquialfooddaily actions
How it's used
While the headword provided is the written form, Cantonese speakers almost exclusively use the verb 食嘢 to express the act of eating. The character 吃 is rarely used in spoken Cantonese, and using it can sound like a Mandarin loan or overly formal. Using 食嘢 is the most natural way to refer to having a meal or grabbing a snack.
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using 吃 in daily conversation, as it sounds unnatural to native speakers. Stick to 食 for all contexts involving food.
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.
