laai6 sei2賴死赖死
Jyutpinglaai6 sei2
Yalelaaih séi
Definition
To refuse to leave or to stubbornly avoid doing something.
colloquialdaily actionspeople
How it's used
This term carries a strong sense of stubbornness or being a nuisance by refusing to budge. It is almost exclusively used with the negative marker 唔 to describe someone who is physically or metaphorically clinging to a spot. It implies the person is being unreasonable or thick-skinned in their refusal to move.
Examples
He refuses to leave, which makes me feel very awkward.
You are still refusing to get up, you will be late!
Common mistake
Learners often mistake this for simply meaning to be lazy, but it specifically requires a context of refusing to move from a location or refusing to perform a specific action that is expected of them.
Grammar color guide
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Verb
Adjective
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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.
