hung1胸
Jyutpinghung1
Yalehūng
Definition
One's mind, heart, character, or inner disposition.
neutralbodydescriptions
How it's used
Refers to the chest area as a metaphor for one's capacity for tolerance, courage, or depth of character. It rarely appears as a standalone noun in modern speech, functioning instead as a component in compound words like 胸襟 or 胸懷. These compounds carry a slightly formal or literary weight, often used when discussing someone's personality or moral stature.
Examples
He is a very broad-minded person.
You should have a magnanimous heart.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 心, which is the more common and general term for heart or mind. Using 胸 alone to describe your feelings will sound unnatural or anatomically literal rather than metaphorical.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
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).
