naam4 zi2男子
Jyutpingnaam4 zi2
Yalenàahm jí
Definition
Man; male.
writtenpeople
How it's used
Reserved for formal contexts like news reports, police statements, or official documents. In everyday casual speech, people almost exclusively use 男人 or 佬 to refer to a male person. Using this in a friendly conversation can sound overly stiff, detached, or even like you are reading from a police blotter.
Measure word
ming4名mìnghExamples
Related words
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe a friend or someone you know personally, as it sounds cold and impersonal. It is strictly for identifying someone in a public or professional capacity.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
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).
