joeng5 ji4 fong4 lou5養兒防老养儿防老
Jyutpingjoeng5 ji4 fong4 lou5
Yaleyéuhng yìh fòhng lóuh
Definition
To raise children with the expectation that they will look after you in your old age.
colloquialfamilypeople
How it's used
This idiom reflects a traditional Confucian value system where children are considered a form of long term retirement investment. Modern Hong Kongers often use it to contrast past expectations with the current reality of high living costs and changing family dynamics. It is frequently invoked in debates about whether adult children have a moral obligation to support their parents financially.
Examples
Their generation still believes in raising children to provide for their old age.
Related words
Common phrases
traditional concept of raising children for old age
no longer believe in raising children for old age
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe the general act of raising children, as it specifically carries the connotation of a transactional or utilitarian expectation for future care.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
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Adverb
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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).
