ngaa4衙
Jyutpingngaa4
Yalengàh
Definition
A government office, especially a magistrate's office in feudal China.
writtenplaces
How it's used
Refers specifically to government offices during the imperial era, often carrying a sense of authority or historical distance. It is rarely used in modern contexts unless describing historical sites or period dramas. The term is almost exclusively found in the compound form 衙門.
Measure word
gaan1間gānExamples
Officials used to sit in the magistrate's office all the time.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often confuse this with general office terms like 辦公室, but it is strictly reserved for historical administrative settings.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
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.
