ngaan4 liu2顏料颜料
Jyutpingngaan4 liu2
Yalengàahn líu
Definition
Pigment, paint, or dye used to color objects.
neutralother
How it's used
Refers specifically to the raw material used for coloring, such as pigments or tubes of paint for art. It is distinct from 油漆, which is specifically used for painting walls or furniture. When talking about the act of painting a picture, people often just refer to the specific medium like 水彩 or 油畫顏料.
Measure word
zek3隻jekExamples
This box of paint is expensive, don't use it carelessly.
How many paints did you buy and bring home?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often use the wrong measure word, but in Cantonese, 隻 is the standard classifier for containers or individual units of paint.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
