maan4鰻鳗
Jyutpingmaan4
Yalemàahn
Definition
Eel
neutralfood
How it's used
鰻 is a bound morpheme that almost exclusively appears in the compound 鰻魚. While it refers to the creature itself, you will rarely hear it used as a standalone noun in casual speech. It is standard to always include 魚 when talking about the food or the animal.
Measure word
tiu4條tìuhExamples
Do you like eating eel rice?
The eel at this restaurant is very fresh.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners sometimes try to use 鰻 alone as a noun, but it sounds incomplete to native speakers. Always use 鰻魚 to refer to the eel.
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.
