hung1哅讻
Jyutpinghung1
Yalehūng
Definition
To threaten, intimidate, or scare someone with words.
colloquialpeoplecommunication
How it's used
Used primarily to describe verbal intimidation or aggressive posturing towards someone. It implies a sense of bullying or trying to force someone into compliance through fear. It is distinct from formal threats involving legal or serious consequences, which would typically use 威脅.
Examples
He is always threatening me, saying he will fire me.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 兇, which is often used as an adjective or verb to describe someone looking fierce or acting in a menacing manner. While they overlap in meaning, 哅 specifically highlights the act of making a threat.
Grammar color guide
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Verb
Adjective
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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).
