kai1稽
Jyutpingkai1
Yalekāi
Definition
To check, inspect, or audit; also used to describe funny or hilarious speech and behavior.
- to check, inspect, or audit
- slanghilarious, funny, or comical speech and behavior
colloquialworkslang
How it's used
The character functions as a morpheme with two distinct lives. In formal or administrative contexts, it retains the sense of inspection or auditing, whereas in casual speech, it is used as a slang term meaning funny or absurd. When used as slang, it often carries a nuance of something being so ridiculous that it becomes comical.
Examples
The company sent someone to audit the accounts.
Related words
Common phrases
to audit or inspect
Common mistake
Learners often confuse the slang usage of 稽 with the formal sense of inspection. Using it to mean funny in a professional report or a formal setting will sound highly inappropriate and confusing to native speakers.
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.
