jat1 lai4 dou3一來到一来到
Jyutpingjat1 lai4 dou3
Yaleyāt làih dou
Definition
Right upon arrival; as soon as one arrives.
colloquialdaily actionstime
How it's used
Focus on the immediate sequence of events by using this structure to link an arrival to a subsequent action. It functions as a temporal connector that emphasizes how quickly the next event follows the act of arriving. Unlike formal written structures, this is highly natural in spoken Cantonese for narrating sequences of events.
Examples
Do you have to start working as soon as you arrive?
Common phrases
as soon as (someone) arrives, then...
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the Mandarin structure 一來...就..., which can sometimes imply a reason or purpose. In Cantonese, 一來到 specifically anchors the action to the physical moment of arrival.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
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.
