jyun4 sam1 bat1鉛芯筆铅芯笔
Jyutpingjyun4 sam1 bat1
Yaleyùhn sām bāt
Definition
Mechanical pencil.
colloquialschoolwork
How it's used
People in Hong Kong almost exclusively use this term for mechanical pencils, rarely using the Mandarin-influenced term 自動鉛筆. It is common to specify the thickness of the lead, such as 0.5毫米, when buying refills at stationery shops. The term is treated as a standard noun and is very common in school and office settings.
Measure word
zi1枝jīExamples
Related words
Common mistake
Learners sometimes mistakenly use 鉛筆 to refer to a mechanical pencil, but 鉛筆 strictly refers to a traditional wooden pencil that requires sharpening with a blade or sharpener.
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.
