jiu3 gan2要緊要紧
Jyutpingjiu3 gan2
Yaleyiu gán
Definition
Important, urgent, or of great consequence.
colloquialdescriptionsother
How it's used
Often used in the negative form 唔要緊 to mean it does not matter or it is not a big deal. When used in the affirmative, it emphasizes that something is a priority or requires immediate attention. It carries a slightly more serious or formal weight compared to the casual 緊要.
Examples
Health is the most important thing, you can earn money slowly.
What is so urgent that you need to deal with it right away?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse 要緊 with 緊要. While they share the same characters, 緊要 is more commonly used as an adjective meaning serious or critical, whereas 要緊 is frequently used in the negative to dismiss a concern.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
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).
