ji1 gun1衣冠
Jyutpingji1 gun1
Yaleyī gūn
Definition
Clothing and hats, or a person's style of dress and appearance.
neutralclothing
How it's used
Refers specifically to formal or proper attire rather than casual everyday clothing. It carries a slightly literary or old-fashioned nuance, often appearing in idioms or formal warnings about decorum. When used in modern speech, it usually highlights a contrast between someone's polished appearance and their actual behavior.
Examples
He is dressed very smartly today, where is he going for a wedding banquet?
You must be properly dressed to enter this restaurant.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe casual clothes like t-shirts or jeans. It is reserved for formal, respectful, or complete outfits, making it sound overly dramatic if applied to daily loungewear.
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.
