lei5李
Jyutpinglei5
Yaleléih
Definition
Plum; a stone fruit with firm flesh that comes in yellow, white, green, or red, and has a sweet and sour taste.
colloquialfood
How it's used
Plums are a common seasonal fruit in Hong Kong, often associated with the early summer months. While the character is also a very common surname, when used as a fruit, it is almost always paired with a classifier like 隻 or 粒 to distinguish it from the family name.
Measure word
zek3隻jekExamples
These plums are very sour, are you used to eating them?
I bought a few plums home, let's eat them later.
Related words
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
