jau5 beng6有病
Jyutpingjau5 beng6
Yaleyáuh behng
Definition
To be sick or ill; or colloquially, to be crazy or out of one's mind.
- to be sick; to be ill
- slangcrazy; out of one's mind; mentally ill
colloquialhealthemotion
How it's used
Beyond the literal meaning of being physically ill, this is frequently used as a rhetorical insult to suggest someone is acting irrationally or behaving in an absurd manner. When used in this figurative sense, it carries a sharp, confrontational tone that is best avoided unless you are genuinely angry or joking with close friends. It functions similarly to calling someone nuts or insane in English.
Examples
Are you crazy or what?
Related words
Common phrases
see a doctor when you are sick
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe a medical condition in a formal or polite setting, as it sounds blunt and potentially rude. If you want to say someone is suffering from a specific illness, use 唔舒服 or 病咗 instead.
Grammar color guide
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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).
