laam5攬揽
Jyutpinglaam5
Yaleláahm
Definition
To acquire, recruit, or gather.
neutralworkpeople
How it's used
Primarily functions as a bound morpheme in modern Cantonese, most commonly appearing in the compound 招攬. It implies an active, intentional effort to bring people or resources into one's own sphere of influence or organization. While it can mean to embrace or hold in other contexts, in a business or social sense, it carries a nuance of building up a network or client base.
Examples
He is working very hard to solicit business.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the colloquial verb 攬 which means to hug or hold in one's arms. When used in the sense of recruiting or gathering, it is almost exclusively part of a two-character compound.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
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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.
