hoeng1 lei5鄉里乡里
Jyutpinghoeng1 lei5
Yalehēung léih
Definition
Fellow villager or townsman; a person from the same village or hometown.
colloquialpeople
How it's used
While often used to denote people from the same hometown or village, this term can carry a slightly rustic or old-fashioned connotation. In modern urban settings, it is frequently used in a lighthearted or self-deprecating way to refer to someone who is unfamiliar with city customs or technology. It creates a sense of shared identity and camaraderie that goes beyond just being from the same place.
Measure word
go3個goExamples
So it turns out they are from the same village as you?
It has been a long time since our group of fellow villagers met up.
Related words
Common phrases
country bumpkin
a country bumpkin visiting the city for the first time
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the Mandarin usage where it can sometimes imply a more derogatory sense of being a country bumpkin. In Cantonese, it is often used warmly to acknowledge a shared background, though the idiom 大鄉里 specifically highlights a lack of worldly experience.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
