maai5 hei2買起买起
Jyutpingmaai5 hei2
Yalemáaih héi
Definition
To hire a hitman to kill or injure someone, or to buy up everything.
- slangto hire a hitman to injure or murder someone
- to buy up completely
slangpeopleslang
How it's used
Originating from triad slang, this term implies using money to hire a hitman or orchestrate an attack against someone. It carries a heavy, ominous tone and is almost exclusively used in contexts involving criminal activity or extreme power dynamics. While it literally sounds like purchasing something, it is never used for commercial transactions.
Examples
He offended the triads and has been taken out.
Do you think you can just pay to have someone killed because you have money?
Related words
Common phrases
to be taken out by a hitman
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 買晒, which simply means to buy everything up. Using 買起 in a shopping context will sound bizarre and potentially threatening.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
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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).
