loeng4 sing3良性
Definition
Benign or harmless; not causing serious consequences.
How it's used
Primarily used in medical contexts to describe conditions that are not life threatening, but it has expanded into social and economic spheres to describe positive or constructive interactions. It carries a sense of relief or optimism, contrasting sharply with the anxiety associated with anything described as 惡性. When applied to abstract concepts like competition or development, it implies a process that encourages growth rather than destruction.
Examples
Related words
Common mistake
Learners sometimes mistakenly use it to mean good or kind in a moral sense, but it specifically refers to the nature of a process or a physical condition. It is not a general adjective for describing a person's character or a positive outcome in daily life.
Grammar color guide
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.
