jik6役

Jyutpingjik6

Yaleyihk

語素Rare

Definition

War or battle; also refers to labor or service performed out of duty.

war; battle; military campaign
labor; service; duty

writtenother

How it's used

This character is primarily a bound morpheme in modern Cantonese and rarely stands alone as a noun in daily speech. It is most commonly encountered in formal compounds like 戰役 or in historical contexts. When used to describe a specific struggle or effort, it carries a slightly dramatic or literary weight that distinguishes it from more common words like 仗.

Examples

le1呢coeng4場jik6役zan1真hai6係daa2打dak1得hou2好san1辛fu2苦。

This battle was really hard-fought.

nei5你gok3覺dak1得le1呢coeng4場jik6役bin1邊go3個wui2會jeng4贏aa1呀？

Who do you think will win this battle?

Common phrases

zin3戰jik6役

military campaign

Common mistake

Learners often mistake this for the Mandarin word for service or duty, but in Cantonese, it is almost exclusively restricted to military or metaphorical conflict contexts. Do not use it to describe general work or labor.