jyu5羽
Jyutpingjyu5
Yaleyúh
Definition
Feather or plume.
neutralanimalssports
How it's used
羽 is a bound morpheme that almost never appears alone in spoken Cantonese. It is primarily used as a component in compound words like 羽毛 or 羽毛球. When referring to the physical feathers of a bird, native speakers will always use the full term 羽毛 rather than just 羽.
Examples
The feathers on this bird are very beautiful.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not use 羽 as a standalone noun to describe a feather, as it will sound like classical Chinese or incomplete speech. Always use the full form 羽毛.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
