hoeng1 pan3 pan3香噴噴香喷喷
Jyutpinghoeng1 pan3 pan3
Yalehēung pan pan
Definition
Sweet-smelling, fragrant, or highly aromatic.
colloquialfooddescriptions
How it's used
Reduplication of adjectives like this is a hallmark of Cantonese, adding a sense of vividness or emphasis that a single character lacks. It is almost exclusively used for pleasant, appetising smells, particularly those related to food or cooking. You will rarely hear it used for perfumes or flowers, where people prefer to use just the single character 香.
Examples
A fragrant smell is coming from the kitchen.
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using this to describe the scent of flowers or perfume, as it is strongly associated with the sensory experience of eating. For non-food items, stick to the simpler 香.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Aspect markersCantonese has no tenses, but it does have aspect markers. Learn how zo2, gwo3, gan2, and hai2 dou6 show completion, experience, and ongoing action.
- 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.
