naa4 po3 leon4拿破崙拿破仑
Jyutpingnaa4 po3 leon4
Yalenàh po lèuhn
Definition
Napoleon Bonaparte; French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution.
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How it's used
Beyond the historical figure, this term is widely used in Hong Kong to refer to the mille-feuille pastry. When ordering at a bakery or cafe, it almost always refers to the layered dessert rather than the emperor. The name is borrowed directly from the French association with the pastry's layered structure.
Measure word
go3個goExamples
This cake is called Napoleon, it is very crispy.
Related words
Common phrases
Napoleon cake / mille-feuille
Common mistake
Do not confuse the historical emperor with the dessert when in a bakery, as the context is entirely different. Using the name to describe a person's height or personality is not a standard idiom in Cantonese.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
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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).
