hung2慷

Jyutpinghung2

Yalehúng

Definition

Generous, passionate, or vehement.

colloquialpeopledescriptions

How it's used

This character is almost exclusively used in the compound 慷慨 to describe someone who is liberal with money or resources. While it can technically mean ardent or vehement in literary contexts, you will rarely encounter it outside of this specific collocation in daily speech. It carries a positive connotation of being big hearted or unselfish.

Examples

keoi5佢fan6份jan4人hou2好hong2慷koi3慨，seng4成jat6日ceng2請jan4人sik6食faan6飯。

He is a generous person and is always treating people to meals.

nei5你sai2使cin2錢sai2使dou3到gam3咁hong2慷koi3慨，m4唔geng1驚mou5冇cin2錢jung6用me1咩？

You spend money so generously, aren't you afraid of running out?

Common phrases

hong2慷koi3慨gaai2解nong4囊

to donate money generously

hong2慷koi3慨daai6大fong1方

generous and magnanimous

Common mistake

Learners often mistake this for a standalone verb, but it functions as an adjective. You should always use it as 慷慨 rather than trying to use 慷 on its own to describe someone.