kwan1 cung4昆蟲昆虫
Jyutpingkwan1 cung4
Yalekwān chùhng
Definition
Insect; an invertebrate animal of the class Insecta.
neutralanimalsnature
How it's used
While 昆蟲 is the standard scientific term, it is rarely used in casual daily speech. People usually refer to specific insects by their names, such as 曱甴 for cockroaches or 蚊 for mosquitoes. Using the general term 昆蟲 often sounds slightly academic or like something from a biology textbook.
Measure word
zek3隻jekExamples
There are so many insects here, I'm so scared.
Do you know which type of insect lives the longest?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use 昆蟲 to refer to spiders or centipedes. In Cantonese, as in biology, spiders are strictly distinguished from insects because they have eight legs instead of six.
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.
