kei3 gam1暨今
Jyutpingkei3 gam1
Yalekei gām
Definition
Up until now; up to the present.
writtentime
How it's used
This term is primarily used in formal or written contexts rather than casual speech. It carries a sense of duration or persistence, emphasizing that a state has continued from the past to the present moment. In everyday spoken Cantonese, people almost exclusively use 到而家 instead.
Examples
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use this in casual conversation where it sounds overly stiff or literary. It is better to stick with 到而家 to sound natural in daily life.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
