naam4 bin6南便
Jyutpingnaam4 bin6
Yalenàahm bihn
Definition
South; the southern side or region.
colloquialplaces
How it's used
Directional terms in Cantonese often use the suffix 便 to indicate a general area or side. While 南邊 is also understood, 南便 is the preferred orthography in local writing to reflect the specific spoken pronunciation. It is commonly used for relative locations rather than cardinal directions on a map.
Examples
There is a park to the south of the MTR station.
Do you live in the south?
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using this for precise cardinal directions on a map, where 南面 or 南方 are more standard. Learners often confuse it with the Mandarin usage of 邊, so remember that 便 is the distinctively Cantonese way to write this suffix.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
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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).
