hung4 luk6 dang1紅綠燈红绿灯

Jyutpinghung4 luk6 dang1

Yalehùhng luhk dāng

名詞Uncommon

Definition

Pedestrian traffic light.

ngo5我喺hai2紅hung4綠luk6燈dang1等dang2你。

ngo5我喺hai2红hung4绿luk6灯dang1等dang2你。

I'll wait for you at the traffic light.

colloquialtransportdaily actions

How it's used

Native speakers almost exclusively use this term to refer to pedestrian signals, even though it literally translates to red and green lights. While 交通燈 is the more formal or general term for all traffic signals including those for vehicles, 紅綠燈 is the go to word for anyone walking on the street. It is common to pair this with the verb 睇 to emphasize the act of checking the signal before stepping off the curb.

Measure word

zaan2盞ján

Examples

gwo3過maa5馬lou6路gei3記dak1得jiu3要tai2睇hung4紅luk6綠dang1燈aa4呀。

Remember to look at the traffic lights when crossing the road.

cin4前min6面go2嗰go3個hung4紅luk6綠dang1燈waai6壞zo2咗，siu2小sam1心di1啲aa4呀。

The traffic light ahead is broken, be careful.

Common phrases

tai2睇hung4紅luk6綠dang1燈

to look at the traffic lights

dang2等hung4紅luk6綠dang1燈

to wait for the traffic lights

Common mistake

Learners sometimes confuse this with the formal term 交通燈, which is used for vehicle signals. Using 交通燈 for a pedestrian crossing is not wrong, but it sounds slightly less natural in casual conversation.