jam1 sou3音素
Jyutpingjam1 sou3
Yaleyām sou
Definition
Phoneme; the smallest unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another.
neutralother
How it's used
Technical linguistic terms like this are rarely used in casual daily conversation. Most native speakers would simply refer to the sounds of a language using terms like 讀音 or 發音 instead of relying on specialized terminology.
Measure word
go3個goExamples
How many phonemes can a single phoneme contain?
Related words
Common phrases
distinguish phonemes
Common mistake
Learners often confuse this with the general concept of a sound, but it specifically refers to the smallest unit that distinguishes meaning in a language. Using it to describe any random sound is technically incorrect.
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).
