kwai4馗
Jyutpingkwai4
Yalekwàih
Definition
Thoroughfare, road, or path; also high, or cheekbone.
- literarythoroughfare; road; path
- literarycheekbone
- literaryhigh
writtenbodyplaces
How it's used
The character 馗 is rarely used in modern spoken Cantonese on its own. It is almost exclusively encountered in the compound 顴骨 when referring to the cheekbone, or in literary contexts describing a major intersection or thoroughfare. In daily speech, people prefer using 路 or 大路 for roads.
Related words
Common phrases
cheekbone
Common mistake
Learners often confuse the character 馗 with 顴 when talking about facial features. Remember that 顴 is the specific character used for cheekbone, while 馗 is a more obscure character that is largely restricted to formal or literary descriptions of geography.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- 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.
- 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.
