hou6滈
Jyutpinghou6
Yalehouh
Definition
Rainy, or describing rippling and bubbling water.
colloquialweathernature
How it's used
This character is primarily used in spoken Cantonese to describe the sound or visual effect of water, specifically the splashing sound of heavy rain or the gentle rippling of a water surface. It is almost exclusively used as a reduplicated onomatopoeic or descriptive adjective, often followed by 聲 to emphasize the sound. It is rarely seen in formal writing and is mostly restricted to descriptive, colloquial speech.
Examples
It is raining so hard today that it makes a splashing sound.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the literary character 浩, which is used in names or to describe vastness. Learners often mistake the sound-based usage of 滈 for a standard adjective, but it functions specifically as an evocative descriptor for water-related phenomena.
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.
