jam1 gung1 gwai2陰功鬼阴功鬼
Definition
A wicked and unscrupulous person; someone who does terrible things.
How it's used
Refers specifically to someone who lacks conscience and acts in a way that is morally reprehensible or harmful to others. It carries a strong sense of moral condemnation and is often used when someone has been betrayed or treated unfairly by a deceitful person. While it shares the root 陰功 with the expression 陰功呀, which means pitiful or unfortunate, the addition of 鬼 shifts the meaning from describing a situation of pity to labeling a person as malicious.
Measure word
go3個goExamples
Related words
Common phrases
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 陰功呀, which is an exclamation used to express sympathy or pity for someone's bad luck. Using 陰功鬼 to describe a person who is suffering will sound like you are calling them a villain rather than expressing empathy.
Grammar color guide
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
