koeng5鏹镪
Jyutpingkoeng5
Yalekéuhng
Definition
Money or currency, used only in a few set phrases.
colloquialmoneyfestival
How it's used
This character is almost exclusively encountered in the compound 冥鏹, which refers to paper money burned for the deceased. It does not function as a standalone word for money in modern Cantonese, where 錢 is the standard term. Using it outside of specific ritualistic contexts will sound archaic or confusing to native speakers.
Examples
Remember to burn some joss paper for the ancestors during the Qingming Festival.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not attempt to use this character to refer to actual currency or wealth in daily life, as it is strictly associated with funerary offerings and the afterlife.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
