maau4 ci3茅廁茅厕
Jyutpingmaau4 ci3
Yalemàauh chi
Definition
An old-fashioned, simple toilet without a flushing system; originally a straw-built latrine.
colloquialplaces
How it's used
Using this term today is often a way to insult the cleanliness or quality of a modern facility by comparing it to the primitive, unhygienic structures of the past. It carries a strong connotation of being dirty, smelly, and completely lacking in basic sanitation. Avoid using it to describe any standard public or private bathroom, as it implies the place is barely functional.
Measure word
go3個goExamples
That place used to be an old-fashioned outdoor toilet, it stinks.
Can't you find a proper restroom? Why do you have to go to that run-down one?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use this word to refer to any public restroom, but it is strictly reserved for extremely primitive or dilapidated facilities. Using it for a modern, clean public toilet will sound bizarre or unnecessarily rude.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
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Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
