jau5 san1 gei2有身己
Jyutpingjau5 san1 gei2
Yaleyáuh sān géi
Definition
To be pregnant
colloquialhealthfamily
How it's used
Using 有身己 is a very traditional and slightly formal way to describe pregnancy, often heard from older generations. In modern daily conversation, people overwhelmingly prefer the term 有咗 or 有咗BB. While perfectly understandable, it carries a slightly more conservative or literary tone compared to the more common colloquial alternatives.
Examples
His wife is pregnant, so she has been going out very little recently.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the Mandarin term 有身孕, which sounds similar but is not the standard way to express this in Cantonese. Learners often mistakenly use the Mandarin phrasing instead of the native Cantonese structures.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Aspect markersCantonese has no tenses, but it does have aspect markers. Learn how zo2, gwo3, gan2, and hai2 dou6 show completion, experience, and ongoing action.
- 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.
