laan6 syun4 dou1 zung6 jau5 saam1 gan1 deng1爛船都仲有三斤釘烂船都仲有三斤钉
Jyutpinglaan6 syun4 dou1 zung6 jau5 saam1 gan1 deng1
Yalelaahn syùhn dōu juhng yáuh sāam gān dēng
Definition
Even a ruined or bankrupted wealthy entity still has some assets left of value.
colloquialother
How it's used
This proverb highlights that even someone who has fallen on hard times or a business that is failing often retains some residual value or connections. It is frequently used to warn others against dismissing someone who appears to have lost everything. The imagery of nails remaining in a rotting ship emphasizes that the core foundation or past success still provides a safety net.
Examples
Even though he went bankrupt, he still has some assets left.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- 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.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
