lei1 si2喱士
Jyutpinglei1 si2
Yalelēi sí
Definition
Lace; a decorative openwork fabric made by looping, twisting, or knitting.
colloquialclothingdescriptions
How it's used
Borrowed directly from the English word lace, this term is the standard way to refer to the fabric in Hong Kong. It is almost exclusively used in the context of fashion, clothing, and home decor items like tablecloths. While it sounds like a foreign loanword, it is fully integrated into the local vocabulary and carries no sense of being overly formal or pretentious.
Measure word
faai3塊faiExamples
This skirt has some lace added to the hem, it's so pretty.
Do you like buying lace-style lingerie?
Related words
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.
