ngaan5 zung1 deng1眼中釘眼中钉
Jyutpingngaan5 zung1 deng1
Yalengáahn jūng dēng
Definition
An eyesore; a thorn in one's side; someone or something extremely hated that one wants to get rid of.
colloquialpeopleemotion
How it's used
This term carries a strong sense of personal animosity and implies a desire to remove or get rid of the person being described. It is almost exclusively used to describe people rather than inanimate objects. The imagery of a pin in the eye emphasizes that the mere presence of the person causes constant irritation and discomfort.
Measure word
nap1粒nāpExamples
He always targets me, treating me like a thorn in his side.
Why do you treat that person like a thorn in your side?
Related words
Common phrases
to regard someone as a thorn in one's side
Common mistake
Learners often mistake this for a physical injury or a literal object. It is strictly a metaphorical expression for a person who is deeply disliked, not a description of an actual medical condition or a physical obstacle.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
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Classifier
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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).
