maan6 lei5萬里万里
Jyutpingmaan6 lei5
Yalemaahn léih
Definition
A very long distance; thousands of miles; far away.
writtendescriptionsother
How it's used
Literary in nature, this term is rarely used in casual speech to describe actual distance. It is almost exclusively found in idioms or poetic expressions emphasizing a vast, metaphorical, or epic journey. Using it to describe a simple trip to the grocery store would sound overly dramatic or comical.
Examples
He moved to a place far away to live.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistake this for a standard measurement of distance, but it is a hyperbolic expression rather than a literal unit of ten thousand li. It functions more like the English phrase "a thousand miles away" to emphasize extreme separation.
Grammar color guide
Noun
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Adjective
Adverb
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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).
