hou3 zin3好戰好战
Jyutpinghou3 zin3
Yalehou jin
Definition
Bellicose, belligerent, or warlike; fond of fighting and eager to start wars.
colloquialpeopledescriptions
How it's used
While often used in formal contexts to describe nations or political leaders, in daily Cantonese it is frequently applied to individuals who are argumentative or prone to conflict. It carries a negative connotation of being unnecessarily confrontational rather than just being competitive.
Examples
He is a belligerent person and always wants to pick a fight with others.
Why are you being so aggressive? Let's all sit down and talk it out.
Related words
Common phrases
militant
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 好勝, which means competitive or having a strong desire to win. Someone who is 好勝 wants to succeed, while someone who is 好戰 actively seeks out conflict or confrontation.
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).
