ji4兒儿
Jyutpingji4
Yaleyìh
Definition
Diminutive suffix, no longer productive.
colloquialpeople
How it's used
Unlike Mandarin where the suffix is highly productive for creating diminutive nouns, Cantonese uses it only in a handful of fossilized words. It does not function as a living grammatical tool to soften nouns or indicate smallness. Most speakers will not recognize it as a suffix at all, perceiving words like 乞兒 as single, indivisible units of meaning.
Examples
Related words
Common phrases
beggar
Common mistake
Do not attempt to add this suffix to other nouns to make them sound cute or small, as it will sound unnatural or completely unintelligible to native speakers.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
