jyun4 bou2元寶元宝
Jyutpingjyun4 bou2
Yaleyùhn bóu
Definition
Sycee; gold or silver ingot used as currency in ancient China, or paper replicas burned for ancestors.
- sycee; gold or silver ingot used as currency in ancient China
- paper replicas of gold ingots burned as offerings to the deceased
colloquialfestivalother
How it's used
Refers specifically to the boat shaped ingots used as currency in imperial China. In modern Hong Kong, the term almost exclusively refers to paper replicas used in traditional funeral rites and ancestor worship. It is rarely used to describe actual historical currency outside of museum or academic contexts.
Measure word
go3個goExamples
During the Ching Ming Festival, my family burns a lot of paper gold ingots for our ancestors.
Do you know how these paper gold ingots are folded?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with general money or cash, which is usually referred to as 錢 or 銀紙. Using 元寶 to describe modern currency will sound extremely strange or even ghostly to a native speaker.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- NegationHow to say no, not, didn't, and don't in Cantonese. The four main negation words and when to use each one.
- Numbers and moneyCounting, talking about money, and asking how much things cost. Includes the two words for two and the everyday words for dollars and cents.
- Aspect markersCantonese has no tenses, but it does have aspect markers. Learn how zo2, gwo3, gan2, and hai2 dou6 show completion, experience, and ongoing action.
