jik1肊
Jyutpingjik1
Yaleyīk
Definition
The breast or chest; also feelings or thoughts.
- literarythe breast or chest
- literaryfeelings; thoughts; mind
colloquialbodyemotion
How it's used
Refers to the innermost part of the heart or the chest area where emotions are held. It is almost exclusively used in the compound 心肊 to describe hidden thoughts or deep-seated feelings that one might not express openly. It carries a more literary or slightly old-fashioned nuance compared to just using 心.
Examples
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the common word 胸 which refers to the physical chest. Using 肊 on its own is extremely rare in modern spoken Cantonese and will sound confusing to native speakers.
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).
