hoi2 dai2 je4海底椰
Jyutpinghoi2 dai2 je4
Yalehói dái yèh
Definition
Sea coconut; a species of palm tree (Lodoicea maldivica).
colloquialfoodhealth
How it's used
Commonly used in Cantonese soups and desserts for its supposed medicinal properties, particularly for soothing the throat and clearing phlegm. It is almost exclusively encountered in the context of traditional Chinese herbal soups or sweet desserts rather than as a raw fruit. Most people in Hong Kong refer to the dried, sliced version found in herbal shops when they use this term.
Measure word
go3個goExamples
This bowl of sea coconut and pear stew is very soothing for the throat.
Related words
Common phrases
sea coconut and pear stew
sea coconut sweet soup
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the actual fruit of the Lodoicea maldivica, which is a protected species and rarely consumed in this way. The product sold in Hong Kong markets is typically the fruit of a different palm species, Borassus flabellifer, which is widely accepted under the same name.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- 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.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
