jyu4覦觎
Jyutpingjyu4
Yaleyùh
Definition
To desire passionately; to long for or covet.
writtenemotion
How it's used
This character is rarely used in everyday spoken Cantonese and is mostly encountered in written contexts or formal speech. When people express a strong desire for something in casual conversation, they almost always use 恨 or 想要 instead. Using 覦 in a casual chat might sound overly dramatic or literary to a native speaker.
Examples
Related words
Common phrases
to covet
Common mistake
Learners often confuse this with 覬覦, which is a formal four-character idiom. Using 覦 alone as a verb in a casual sentence will sound unnatural, as it is essentially a literary term that has been largely replaced by more common verbs in the spoken language.
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.
