laap6臘腊
Jyutpinglaap6
Yalelaahp
Definition
To cure and preserve meat by seasoning, hanging, and wind-drying or sun-drying, traditionally in the twelfth lunar month.
colloquialfoodfestival
How it's used
Refers specifically to the traditional process of curing and air drying meat during the cooler months. While the character shares the same origin as the word for wax, it is almost exclusively used as a prefix for preserved food items like 臘肉 or 臘鴨. It carries a strong cultural association with the arrival of winter and the preparation for the Lunar New Year.
Examples
The weather is starting to get cold, it is time to make preserved meat again.
Do you like eating Chinese preserved sausage?
Related words
Common phrases
Chinese preserved sausage
Chinese cured pork belly
Chinese preserved duck
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the noun for wax, which is also written as 蠟. Although they share a visual similarity and historical connection, the food-related character is strictly used in culinary contexts.
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.
