le1咧
Jyutpingle1
Yalelē
Definition
To grin, grimace, or draw back the corners of one's mouth.
colloquialbodyemotion
How it's used
This term is a colloquial, often onomatopoeic way to describe the act of crying or wailing. It carries a slightly more informal or expressive tone than the standard 喊. It is frequently used when describing children or someone crying in a loud, unrestrained manner.
Examples
He is just a kid, don't make him cry.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often confuse this with the Mandarin particle 咧, which is used at the end of sentences to indicate a pause or a specific tone. In Cantonese, this is strictly a verb related to crying and should not be used as a sentence-final particle.
Grammar color guide
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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).
