ngaa4牙

Jyutpingngaa4

Yalengàh

名詞Common

Definition

Tooth; the organ in humans and animals used for grinding and tearing food.

ngo5我ngaa4牙tung3痛。

My tooth hurts.

colloquialbodyhealth

How it's used

While 牙 refers to a single tooth, it is also used in compound words for various types of teeth like 門牙 or 臼齒. When referring to a full set of teeth, Cantonese speakers often use the term 棚牙 to describe the entire row. It is common to use the classifier 隻 for a single tooth, but for a whole set, you would use 棚.

Measure word

zek3隻jek

Examples

ngo5我zek3隻ngaa4牙hou2好tung3痛aa3呀，soeng2想heoi3去tai2睇ji1醫sang1生。

My tooth hurts a lot, I want to see a doctor.

nei5你caat3刷zo2咗ngaa4牙mei6未aa3呀？

Have you brushed your teeth yet?

Common phrases

caat3刷ngaa4牙

to brush teeth

ngaa4牙tung3痛

toothache

bou2補ngaa4牙

to have a tooth filled

Common mistake

Learners often mistakenly use 顆 as a measure word for teeth, which is common in Mandarin but sounds unnatural in Cantonese. Always use 隻 for a single tooth.