maai5 je5買嘢买嘢
Jyutpingmaai5 je5
Yalemáaih yéh
Definition
To go shopping; to buy things.
colloquialshoppingdaily actions
How it's used
Functioning as a verb-object compound, this term is extremely versatile and covers everything from grocery shopping to browsing for clothes. It is the standard way to express the act of shopping in casual conversation, whereas the more formal term 購物 is usually reserved for written contexts or news reports.
Examples
Are you free to go shopping with me later?
I went shopping at the supermarket today and bought a lot of snacks.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not treat this as a transitive verb that takes an object directly after it. You cannot say 買嘢蘋果 to mean buy apples; instead, you must use the structure 買蘋果 or 買啲蘋果.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
