je5嘢
Jyutpingje5
Yaleyéh
Definition
Thing, stuff, or matter; used as a general placeholder for any concrete or abstract concept.
colloquialdaily actionsother
How it's used
Acting as a universal placeholder, this word functions similarly to 'stuff' or 'thing' in English but with much higher frequency in daily speech. It is incredibly versatile and can replace almost any noun when the speaker is being vague, lazy, or simply cannot recall the specific name of an object. It is rarely used in formal writing, where more precise nouns are preferred.
Measure word
joeng6樣yeunghExamples
Related words
Common mistake
Beginners often confuse this with 乜嘢, which is the question word 'what'. While 嘢 is a noun meaning 'thing', 乜嘢 is a pronoun used to ask about the identity of that 'thing'.
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.
