kwan4 maai4羣埋群埋
Jyutpingkwan4 maai4
Yalekwàhn màaih
Definition
To hang around with or associate with someone, often of a questionable crowd.
colloquialpeople
How it's used
This verb implies a sense of social clustering or forming a clique, often carrying a slightly negative or suspicious connotation depending on the context. It suggests that the people involved are spending time together in a way that might be exclusionary or forming a specific social circle. It is rarely used to describe formal professional networking, focusing instead on casual or peer group associations.
Examples
He always likes to hang around with that group of people.
Why do you always hang out with him?
Related words
Common phrases
to hang out together
Common mistake
Learners often confuse this with the general verb for making friends, but it specifically describes the act of physically hanging out or associating in a group, rather than the process of establishing a new friendship.
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.
